Coming from a Calvinist Reformed background, I more or less accepted Pre-destination by default. Except for a brief flirt with free-will in college, I’ve come to agree that at least in a general sense, God has called each of us to a specific profession, geographic location, etc. I don’t think God really cares what kind of cereal we have in the morning, but there is no doubt in my mind that He has a plan for us. Sadly, I think the church has used this as a reality check on youthful exuberance and idealism. “So rare and unlikely is it that anyone will actually change the world that God certainly wouldn’t call you to that. It’s far more likely God has called you to be an insurance agent or retail manager.” And so we end up with lots of disgruntled office workers reading lots of self-help books about restoring purpose to their lives.

I believe God has indeed called all to be great and some to even change the world. Maybe God has called you to be a claims adjuster. Not the most exciting work, I know. But maybe He has called you to that role to be a source of compassion to people who have just lost everything in a house fire. If He has called you to be a camp registrar maybe it is so you can be a source of hope and grace to families struggling to stay together. But at the same time, so often we encourage musicians and writers and artists and dreamers to get “real jobs” rather than create something beautiful. As if God is more glorified in an 8-5 existence than an unpublished manuscript or an overlooked song posted to YouTube.

As I have started telling people that my passion in life is to be a story teller I seem to get one of two responses. I either hear something like, “Oh cool!” Or something like, “Hmm, so what are you actually going to do?” Maybe the latter response is born of experience and pragmatism and the former idealism and NPR, but so what? Maybe God hasn’t called EVERYONE to change the world, but if a few more people try would we be that worse off for the lack of a few more accountants or lawyers? Take a chance, indulge God a little. Who knows, you might even change the world if even just a little bit.

Filed under: life by Jonathan