Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Ephesians 5:1–2 (MSG)
I love this paraphrase of Ephesians. The idea that we watch what God does and then do it. That’s our assignment. And when we watch, we find that mostly what God does is love us. Through Jesus, we see His extravagant love giving us everything of Himself, all of the time. Our job is to love like that. How different would my life be if I made loving my job? And yet that’s what the Bible tells us to do.
Mother Teresa said, “Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.” That’s interesting to me, coming from someone who spent her life serving the poorest of the poor. But what she’s saying is that the work, no matter what it is, is secondary. Our vocation—what we do—our fundamental focus and calling—is the love of Jesus.
This applies to me as I teach at the university. My work may be reading and writing. But my vocation is love. My doctor friend cares for the sick; my cosmetologist friend styles hair. My auto-tech friend changes oil and tires, and my brother administrates the school. But our vocations are all the same: love. Jesus’s love informs whatever daily tasks there are to perform and infuses them with purpose and meaning.
FAITH STEP: What is your work? And how does it serve the purpose of your vocation, which is the love of Jesus? Evaluate your daily tasks in light of your true vocation, looking for ways to share the love of Jesus through the work He has given you to do.
