Mike Smith:
On our last program, you explained what the doctrine of vocation is. Where does this play out? Tell our listeners about the different kinds of vocations they might be called to.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith:
Well, the old preachers on this talked about the multiple vocations that all Christians have. And basically, in all of the institutions God has ordained, He’ll call us to that. We have callings in the church, in the things that we do for our congregations. We have a calling in the workplace, which is the normal way we think of vocation, but it’s so much broader than that.

But one of the most important vocations are the vocations we have in the family. And even in the family, we have multiple vocations. An individual woman may have the vocation of being a wife to her husband—because marriage is a calling from God. She may also be a mother to her children, and being a parent is a calling from God. And she still has a vocation of being a child. Being a child is a vocation of God, and even an adult, as long as our parents are living, we still have that special relationship to our parents. And that, too, is part of the vocations that God gives us, which are arenas for us to live out our faith.

Mike:
Thank you for illuminating this concept for us, Dr. Veith. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.