Calling/Mission
Q I’m an adult who is frustrated at not finding my life calling despite working for many years. It’s very important for me to know what I can offer the world, to know God’s mission for me, so why can’t I seem to find it?
A Quentin Schultze’s book Here I Am (Baker 2005) suggests identifying your “root gifts”—gifts applicable across many different areas—by trying out apparent strengths, considering your interests, reviewing past work and volunteer experiences, conferring with those you know and trust, and taking standardized tests. As you identify your root gifts, you will get a better sense of how God intends to use you in his mission.
Paraphrasing Frederick Buechner, I think God calls us to where our deep passions, our root gifts, our world’s needs, and God’s mission intersect. This doesn’t necessarily coincide with a specific job. Our mission or calling may be fulfilled through multiple roles and jobs.
For instance, I believe my mission is where my passions for God’s church and the marginalized intersect; my gifts in thinking, teaching, communicating, and writing about how our culture and church struggle with inclusion; and God’s mission of reconciliation through Christ Jesus. Currently, I try to fulfill this mission primarily through my campus ministry, preaching and writing professions, and secondarily through my roles as husband, father, and church member. But I didn’t get this clarity overnight—it was a long road of trying, asking, praying, and soul searching.
But perhaps you have tried all these. Could your frustrations stem from unrealistic expectations of God’s calling? Most callings are not glamorous to human eyes; most are ordinary, humble, and unspectacular. For example, take the story of a young widow who cares for her aging mother-in-law in a foreign land, ends up marrying a kinsman, and starts a new family. Sounds ordinary, right? But by being faithful in those ordinary things, Ruth fulfilled her calling as ancestor to King David and ultimately to Jesus (see Ruth 4:13-22; Matt. 1:1-16). Very often God uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
So take heart! Work seemingly unconnected to God’s mission could well be within God’s calling for our lives. Meanwhile, be faithful wherever God has placed you as you keep searching and asking for clarity in your life calling.
—Shiao ChongShiao Chong is campus minister at York University, Toronto.
Culture
Q I recently chose to spend quite a bit of money on veterinarian bills for my cat. He was not ill enough to euthanize. I feel somewhat guilty, considering the human poverty in this world. How much is too much to spend on care for a pet?
A I empathize with you. One year, our family’s treasured dog developed Lyme disease. After diagnosis and an $800 treatment, we still had to euthanize him in December because he got no better and was in extreme pain. Our family had a limited Christmas and mourned the loss of our pet. I have never felt at home with the decision to spend so much of our scarce resources on our dog, much loved though he was.
Would I have felt differently if there had been no children in the family, more money, fewer bills? Possibly, but I think not.
On the one hand, when we bring animals into our lives, we implicitly promise to care for them. That means regular feeding, exercise, and routine medical treatment. There’s no excuse for neglect. I see this as part of us fulfilling God’s creation charge to humans.
But as you point out in your question, in addition to responsible dominion, stewardship also enters into the picture. When Jesus recommended giving to Caesar what is due to Caesar, he suggested to us (among other things) that our financial affairs should be in good order, with priorities where they belong. Expenses for pets should not displace responsibilities to God, our country’s needs, our household, or our family.
Choosing to bring a pet into our lives should be done knowingly, taking our financial resources as well as our emotional needs into account. It seems to me that each family or person needs to learn what it costs to care for a pet. They should also set a threshold of expense that they will not cross before they get a pet, then stick to that plan when it comes time to make a hard decision.
—Helen Sterk
Dr. Helen Sterk is chair of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.
