Most people probably don’t know what they are celebrating on Labor Day–“something about Unions”–but we here at the Cranach blog have long sought to fill this holiday with meaning by turning it into a Christian feast commemorating the doctrine of vocation.
The term, which just means “calling,” is about far more than a person’s job, though it includes that. We all have multiple callings: in the family (as husbands & wives, fathers & mothers, sons & daughters), in the workplace (as employers & employees, in all the niches of the economic order), in the church (as pastors & laity), and in the state (as citizens & members of society in this time and place). God, in His providential governing of the world, works through human callings, and the purpose of all vocations is to love and serve our neighbors. Thus, our various vocations are the realms in which we live out our faith.
Vocation is a major theme of this blog and helps account for the variety of topics we cover here. We talk about theology, since we have a calling in the church. We talk about various occupations and the remarkable things human beings have been given the talent to do (the arts, literature, science, economics, history). We talk about family (marriage, parenting). We talk about current events, political issues, and contemporary problems NOT because we are trying to impose some kind of ideological agenda or bring on some utopian solution to everything, but because we have the vocation of citizenship and so are obliged to participate productively in the larger society.
Vocation is a rich, rich topic, and I’m glad to see that it’s being rediscovered. I wrote two books on the subject: God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life and, with my daughter Mary Moerbe, Family Vocation: God’s Calling in Marriage, Parenting, & Childhood.
So happy Vocation Day, everybody, and may God bless you in all of your labors in all of the relationships to which He has called you!
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