I had never been the one to accept the advice of others or to seek out a mentor in life. I typically act in self reliance and in my own wisdom, which can be a lonely place to be. As members of the body of Christ, it is important to interact within that community, as the Spirit's power can be made manifest in the gathering of two or three. That is why I am blessed to have a mentor today named Jacob. Jacob is only about 10 years older than me and is a member of my church, but I have found his insight to be relevant (as well as recent) to my circumstances and stage in life. He has only recently attained his initial career and family goals, and it is helpful to hear his wisdom on these subjects as I am working towards those now.
The most recent topic of discussion was what I want to do for the rest of my life. At first, this was an easy question for me to answer, as I know what it is I want to do after college, which is to join the Air Force. He agreed that this was a good goal and career path to take, but he was getting at something deeper. Jacob is a counselor by profession, but this was not always the career path he anticipated. He learned in life that what you do for the rest of your life may not just be limited to what you do as a profession. There are many Christians whose day jobs may not necessarily be the specific calling God has placed on their life. Being at a place like Wheaton, we are under immense pressure from ourselves to do something important that will matter in eternity. In my own mind, the first thing I assume is that achieving this goal is directly related to what you do for work. Jacob shared the insight that what we do to make money does not have to be what our means of influence or calling in this world. God has unique and diverse calling for us, and perhaps climbing the corporate ladder or military rank structure is not necessarily it. While there is great benefit in doing our best in all that we do, we should be to others what God has called us to be; loving and encouraging to one another.
My perspective on what I want to do for a living has changed as a result of time and interaction with Jacob. While I still desire to join the Air Force and gain rank and experience, my main goal in life is to honor God with what he has given me, to love those God has put in my path, and to be a well of encouragement and inspiration to my friends and family.
The most recent topic of discussion was what I want to do for the rest of my life. At first, this was an easy question for me to answer, as I know what it is I want to do after college, which is to join the Air Force. He agreed that this was a good goal and career path to take, but he was getting at something deeper. Jacob is a counselor by profession, but this was not always the career path he anticipated. He learned in life that what you do for the rest of your life may not just be limited to what you do as a profession. There are many Christians whose day jobs may not necessarily be the specific calling God has placed on their life. Being at a place like Wheaton, we are under immense pressure from ourselves to do something important that will matter in eternity. In my own mind, the first thing I assume is that achieving this goal is directly related to what you do for work. Jacob shared the insight that what we do to make money does not have to be what our means of influence or calling in this world. God has unique and diverse calling for us, and perhaps climbing the corporate ladder or military rank structure is not necessarily it. While there is great benefit in doing our best in all that we do, we should be to others what God has called us to be; loving and encouraging to one another.
My perspective on what I want to do for a living has changed as a result of time and interaction with Jacob. While I still desire to join the Air Force and gain rank and experience, my main goal in life is to honor God with what he has given me, to love those God has put in my path, and to be a well of encouragement and inspiration to my friends and family.
I think that it's so cool that you want to join the Air Force, one of my best friends is in the Airborne division in the Army - different, I know, but still has to do with the military, planes, and jumping out of them. Jacob has some pretty wise advice. I tend to believe, similarly, that there isn't just one path or vocation that we are each called by God to do for his kingdom, and it by all means doesn't consist as being a missionary or pastor for everyone, as seems to be a common thought process we tend to fall into at this college. Rather, anything we choose to do can be used to honor God; he gives us the freedom to live our lives and make our plans how we want. In the end, it doesn't really matter if you are ambitiously climbing your company's ladder or living in a village in the Andes handing out bibles, as long as there's a relationship with Christ in how you live, its going to impact others and honor God.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. God's calling for us is not necessarily limited to our professions, though this might be the case for some people. It's important to understand that we can glorify God in every aspect of our daily life even as little as talking with friends and family members.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly struck a chord of truth here! It can be relieving that we do not have to necessarily make our job our ministry that will last in eternity. What we still need to remember though, is to still keep God in our workmanship and character and that will eventually show itself to others in its own form.
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