Friday, January 22. Matthew 4:18-22

Think about what you do for a living. If you are a student, and are still thinking about your coming career, then think about how you spend most of your time as a student.

Why do you do it? Are you motivated by money? Are you trying to climb the ladder of success to get a nice car and a big house? Are you motivated by status? If you do this type of work, then people will think a certain way about you, and treat you a certain way in public.

Or, do you do it because you feel that God has called you to do it, and that it is a gift from God. The word we use to describe a calling is vocation. The latin word voca means voice. God has called you to do it.

Jesus called his first disciples. “Hey, follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”

Do you know what I think happened in that moment? I don’t think Simon, Andrew, James, and John stopped being fishermen in that moment. I think Jesus transformed their idea of what it means to be a fisherman. He shifted their motivation and harnessed their God-given skills as fishermen to now have a purpose for helping people.

Think about what you do. Is it your vocation? Has God called you to do it?

Do you know how you can tell if you just have a job or if you have a calling? Ask yourself this question: What is my motivation and who does this work really serve?

It doesn’t matter what you do for a living. Society needs every job, and every job is valuable in God’s eyes. What matters is why you do it, how you do it, and for whom you do it.

Take your job and put it into this sentence: Jesus said (to you) “Follow me, and I will make you a _________ for the good of people.”

Now go, follow Jesus.