I recently read a book by Michaela O’Donnell called Make Work Matter. This is a beautifully written and informative book on the nature of work and calling. It came at the perfect time in my life as I was wrestling through a crisis of work. Like many people in their late 20’s/early 30’s, I questioned whether or not I was pursuing the “right” career or job, and found myself lost in the never ending “what-if’s”. Considering how to find your calling in the midst of this ever changing, confusing world of work? You, too, might be encouraged by what I learned:

Find Your Calling

Somewhere in our culture we bought into the idea that there’s a right and wrong career route. That we’re supposed to be on one single track and if we’re not, somehow we did it wrong. We took a wrong turn, missed an opportunity, or chose the wrong career path.

But in reality, it’s not like that.

The callings in our lives often don’t have clear directions or end-points. We live in an ever-changing world, and we’re constantly changing as people. We live as well as we can, with the information we have, and the experiences that have shaped us. This includes the decisions and pursuits within our work.

If you’re wrestling with thoughts about your work and whether you’re on the right “track,” you’re not alone.

The Changing Workforce

Dr. O’Donnell does a brilliant job articulating the changes in the workforce that have surfaced over the last few decades. We live in the “Age of Overwhelm” as she puts it. We’re living in a new world of work, with dynamic career paths that are constantly changing and requiring new sets of skills. People don’t stay in one job for their whole lives anymore.

In the past, a person’s career journey reflected a ride up an escalator. Now, it’s more like kayaking down white water rapids. And it’s often up to us to reroute or reconstruct the very rivers we travel down. As O’Donnell states, “Certain ideological systems and work environments are broken. In this age, it’s up to change makers, risk-takers, and the faithful to repair or start fresh when our contexts aren’t bearing fruit for the common good.”

Because we live in a broken world, within broken systems, and among broken people, we will always be let down. At some people in our jobs, we will face injustice, disappointment, or a longing to be somewhere else, no matter where we find ourselves. This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in the wrong place. Not always, at least. For there are times when job changes do need to happen.

But often times it’s up to us to cultivate change and align our work with Christ’s mission. Especially in places of chaos and unrest. We are called to pursue justice and shalom — a sense of wholeness, flourishing, and peace — in whatever we do. We are the agents of change. And in order to do this, we’ve got to have a solid foundation on what we’re doing, and why we do what we do.

Martin Luther on Vocation

Martin Luther also had some practical thoughts on the nature of vocation. According to Luther, the purpose of daily work was to be in loving service to our neighbors through one’s particular “station” or “office.” These terms include our occupation, but they also include one’s relationships. At any given time one will have a vocation that may involve many different offices or stations: as a child, spouse, caregiver, student, employer, or employee.

Luther references the image of the body of Christ in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, illustrating the role of the individual body parts as they relate to the functioning of the whole body. While each of our callings are different, none of them are to be regarded as less important or better than the other. We serve God and fulfill the duties of our calling when we serve our neighbor in whatever station we find ourselves in.

The question shifts from, “Am I in the right job or career,” to “How do I love and serve my neighbor from the station where God has placed me?”

Find Your Calling as an Image Bearer

In light of Luther’s work, O’Donnell identifies what our primary callings as image bearers consist of through the following themes. I find them very practical and something like a roadmap for the journey. Our callings as Christians are:

1. To belong to Christ, individually and collectively. As a church, we are called to be God’s holy people and follow after Him together. As O’Donnell sums this up: “We are to talk through the world loving God, prioritizing mercy, loving our neighbors, centering marginalized people, practicing forgiveness, extending grace, and living generously with the narrative of Christ as our guiding light.”
2. To work towards redemption, pursuing opportunities to extend healing and shalom in the midst of this beautifully messy world. We get to take part in God’s redemptive story by extending his grace and healing into broken places. Instead of running away from pain and suffering, we can run towards it, in confidence, carrying the hope of Christ.
3. To create, especially in loving service to one another. Our call to create reflects the very creativity of God in His design for the world. We, too, are called to create using our own gifts, talents, ideas, and visions for the world. But not merely for ourselves. We don’t simply create to pursue our own ambitions but for the sake of loving our neighbor, like Luther proposed. This can take many forms, like creating new solutions or processes within an organization, working to restore broken systems, providing encouragement, support, or guidance for those whom we serve, or advocating for the lost and needy. When modeled after God’s creativity, his type of creative work leads to renewal, redemption, and resiliency in our world and communities.
4. A call to particulars — particular people, places, moments, tasks, and roles. Many of us will not experience a fixed calling from God for most of our lives. Instead, we will be called to serve Him and love His people through various opportunities He gives us. These don’t necessarily mean big job changes or TED talks. But in simple interactions with people at the grocery store, coffee shop, or in daily conversations with friends and family. Instead of waiting for the “next big thing” in your career, consider the particular places and roles you’re currently in, and prioritize serving God in this place. You’ll be amazed at the freedom that will follow.

Summing it all up,

“We are called to follow Jesus by creatively working in love for others, especially towards God’s mission of redemption in the world, through particular relationships, roles, places, tasks, and moments”

Make Work Matter

With this vision in mind, we are invited to seize opportunity, to create value, and face risk within the dynamic, ever changing work we have before us. This is done by stepping away from the forces of individualism and creatively working alongside each other, in community, for the wellbeing of our neighbors, not just to achieve something for ourselves. This way of looking at our work and calling frees us from rigid, black-and-white thinking. Instead, it opens up a broader way to live out our values and to love and serve as faithful witnesses of Christ.