“Too often we think of God’s call (or our vocation) solely in terms of what we do. People speak of being called to the ministry or feeling called to work in healthcare or teaching. However, while doing will always be involved, vocation is much more than our occupation. It is the face of Christ we are called from eternity to show the world. It is who we are called to be.” ~ The Gift of Being Yourself, David Benner
December 2009
Dear Family & Friends,
Recently, our community spent some time considering and reflecting on vocation and calling. We were reminded that vocation is more than what we do. It is who we are called to be. Our primary vocation/call is living as God’s beloved sons and daughters; followers of Jesus Christ reflecting His image in whatever we do.
Jesus’ own vocation is seen in his Baptism, Temptation, and Proclamation of His mission in Luke 3-4. Jesus’ public ministry begins with His baptism, when the Spirit descends on Him like a dove and the Father affirms Him in saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Soon after in the dessert, Satan attempts to divert Jesus in His calling. Finally, His calling is announced in reading the prophet Isaiah to proclaim good news to the poor. Jesus announced this call following those forty days in the desert. He resisted the temptation to define himself by power, prestige, or possessions. Instead, Jesus held onto his true identity as the deeply loved Son of God, affirmed at his baptism by the Father.
We must also claim and live in the knowledge that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God. We are not defined by what we do, what others say about us, or what we have. No, our primary calling is to live as God’s beloved. The Father affirmed this calling in Jesus’ life at His baptism. Later Jesus tells his disciples in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
My prayer and desire is to more fully rest and live in my vocation as God’s beloved son. I also desire this for my friends who live or work on the streets here in Buenos Aires. I pray that they may grasp that God loves them and cares deeply for them. They are not defined by what they do, what they have, or what people say about them. Ephesians 3:17-19 is my prayer, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
This Advent and Christmas season, I hope and pray you find space to rest in the abiding love of Jesus and grasp how wide and long and high and deep is His love for you.
Resting in Belovedness,
David