Vineyard Church | Weekly Update October 9th, 2024

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a well-meaning question that misses the point for followers of Jesus. Two weeks ago, we unloaded the 4th commandment, Exodus 20:8-11:8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.

6+1… Not an oppressive restriction or proscription on our lives, but a description of how we were designed to function by the Intelligent Designer. Less “follow this rule” and more “understand how you are made.” While this isn’t a rule to follow, for God’s creation to function as designed, compliance with the Manufacturer’s specifications is required… Human efficiency is fueled by submission to the will of God that allows for the accomplishment of work and the required restoration of stability and security.

Submission, though, is a dirty word in much of our culture. The problem is that it means exactly what people are afraid of; it means that we give over control to something other than ourselves. We work for a plan not our own… We serve a will that isn’t created in our hearts. For a culture that is more interested in building their own kingdom, or not moving beyond inviting God to participate in their plan when there is a need for supernatural intervention, this idea of submitting to God is foolishness.

An entry point for evaluating our submission to the Living God can emerge when we wrestle with the question, “Do I trust God enough to live a 6+1 rhythm?” Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God, so it makes sense to evaluate that faith in light of submission to a rhythm that we did not create.

Now, back to the problematic question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This can easily become “What is the plan you want to create for your life that you can then direct a space for God to fit into?” There is no shot of a sabbatical rhythm emerging from that type of question.

Does this mean that it is wrong to apply our ambitions, gifts, and talents to a career path? To quote the Apostle Paul in Romans 6, “By no means!” The problem is when we use these things to build our kingdom rather than God’s. A helpful way of thinking about this is to separate vocation from calling.

Our vocations are unique to us, fit our circumstances, and also provide the means for basic survival… It is where we get our money to feed and care for our family. Our calling is not unique, it is a shared calling with everyone who has and will make a decision to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Having a vocation is important, work is a vital part of the 6+1 rhythm, but more important than our vocation is our calling to the Great Commission Jesus gave us in Mathew 28 and Mark 16. When we are submitted to the unfolding plan of God rather than our ambition for a life fully our own, our vocation is a vital supporting element to our calling. We work out our calling through our work in our vocation. As we evaluate the 6 of the 6+1, we can spend this week together in prayer to see our vocation and calling come together as an expression of our submission to the One that calls us His beloved.

 

Adam Greenwell
Pastor
Billings Vineyard Church | www.billingsvineyard.org