The doctrine of vocation is simply this: God works through people, in their ordinary stations of life to which he has called them, to care for his creation. In this way, he cares for everyone-Christian and non-Christian-whom He has given life.
Martin Luther puts it this way: Vocations are “masks of God.” On the surface, we see an ordinary human face-our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them. God is hidden in human vocations.
The other side of the coin is that God is hidden in us. When we live out our callings-as spouses, parents, children, employers, employees, citizens, and the rest-God is working through us. Even when we do not realize it, when we fulfill our callings, we
The purpose of vocation, according to Luther, is to love and serve the neighbor. Scripture says that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Our relationship with God is based solely on his grace and initiative, what he has done for us in Christ, and not by any works of our own. Our relationship with our neighbors, though, does involve our “works.” As Gustav Wingren, writes, “God does not need our good works. But our neighbor does.”
In the spiritual kingdom, it is not a question of serving God with our works. But the faith of the Christian bears fruit naturally and even unconsciously in love for one’s neighbor, a love whose source is God and which is carried out in vocation. In serving our neighbors, we end up serving God after all.