Engaging God's World: Chapter 5

The fifth and final chapter of Plantinga's Engaging God's World, is all about our vocation in the kingdom of God. Our vocation is our calling and Plantinga talks about how our calling is not just what our job will be once we graduate, but it is much more than that. Our calling has many parts to it and we have to try to fit all those parts together to honor God. Some of these callings might include being a student or teacher, being a parent, being a husband or wife or child or friend. It is hard to know what God wants from us though, because He doesn't just tell us. We have to be patient and do the best we can to follow God's calling for us. A quote that I liked by Joseph Hall was, "the homeliest service that we do in an honest calling, though it be to plow, or dig, if done in obedience, and conscience of God's Commandment, is crowned with an ample reward; whereas the best works of their kind (preaching, praying, offering Evangelical sacrifices) if without respect of God's injunction and glory, are loaded with curses. God loves adverbs; and cares not how good, but how well." God doesn't ask that we all do the "best" things. He just asks us to do our very best at whatever our calling is and that we do it for him. The one part I don't agree with on that quote is where it says that the best works without respect of God are filled with curses. I agree that they are not as good, and those people are not fulfilling their vocation, but God still uses those works to do good things even if they are for the wrong reasons. A way to try to make sure we are working for God is that when picking a job we should "strive first for the kingdom." We need to take the job in our calling that best suits us to do the most good for God's kingdom. This may mean taking a job with less benefits but it doesn't always mean that. Just because a job has a higher salary and better benefits, doesn't mean it is worse, those just shouldn't be the main reason for picking a specific job.