Vocational Discipleship

Work is not a curse but how mankind pursues the common good and brings glory to God.

“Vocation is integral, not incidental to the mission of God,” writes theologian Stephen Garber. This reality finds its anchor in the Creation Mandate of Genesis 1:28 when God reveals to Adam and Eve,

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

Work is not a curse but the means by which mankind brings glory to God. This truth is affirmed throughout Scripture, including when Paul writes in Colossians 3:23 to those living as slaves, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

The intersection of work and faith goes beyond ethics (not stealing the stapler), evangelism (leaving tracts for coworkers), and economics (paying the bills and tithing). As Christians, through our work, we are offering foretastes of the kingdom of God to seekers and skeptics and participating in the mission of God.

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