Editor’s note: Columns in the Faith section reflect opinions and perspectives of the writer and are not necessarily those of The Republic.
Have you known from your earliest days what you wanted to do, and did your life go as you expected?
When you were a child, could you have foreseen who you are today and what you have become?
Life seldom follows a linear path.
My major at Purdue University was forest management, which involved applying quantitative analysis to the forest ecosystem to optimize return on products and services, including “the three W’s:” wood, water, and wecweation (alliterative for “recreation”).
Years later, I attended seminary and pursued a ministerial career.
When people hear of my forestry background, they often reply, “That’s quite a change!”
Yes, and appropriately so.
Solomon has written, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
Virtually all the biblical prophets and apostles were employed in various trades before the Lord called them to follow him.
Peter had been a fisherman and Matthew a tax collector.
Moses herded sheep before God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt.
Nehemiah had served in the court of Kind Artaxerxes, while Amos tended sheep and fig trees.
I am not suggesting that following the Lord involves a change in employment.
If it were only that simple.
I am saying that the Lord will lead you down paths unexpected and unforeseen.
Changing jobs is easy compared to the life Jesus calls us to.
How many of us, when envisioning our future, ever think of bearing a cross?
Bearing my cross means that I continually say “no” to my ego and place the needs of my spouse and children ahead of my own.
Bearing my cross means that I die daily to my selfish desires and gladly serve my employer and others as I would serve the Lord himself.
How many of us anticipate or look forward to such a future?
As Jesus said, “With men, this is impossible, but not with God. With God, all things are possible.”
Dictionary.com defines “career” as a person’s course or progress through life. It embraces not just employment, but the entirety of one’s lifework.
Who am I? What am I doing on earth? Where is my life headed? These have been called the first order questions of life, because their answers inform every other question confronting us.
These first order questions may be answered as follows:
You are God’s offspring, made in his image. You still resemble him, but his image in you has been disfigured by sin. Sin is the tendency in all of us to live inwardly for ourselves rather than outwardly for God and others.
Unlike us, Jesus perfectly reflects God’s image. He is the man for others, and he demonstrated that by taking our sin upon himself and paying with his own life the penalty for our sin. Through his death and resurrection, we inherit a new life in which God is rebuilding his image in us, daily conforming us to Christ Jesus. This new creative work of God in you will be complete at the resurrection.
It should come as no surprise that encountering God radically changes the course of one’s life.
It is a reboot, a new beginning, not just once but continually.
As Jesus died so that we might live new lives, so we learn — gradually by fits and starts — the higher call of dying to our own desires each day so that we might live for him and others.
Now that really is a change, and it is a far different plan, purpose and career than anything most of us could envision for ourselves.
The Rev. John Armstrong is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Columbus, and may be reached at gracecolumbus.org. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
