Henry has been reading for his Vocation small group. Join him in reflecting on how we are claimed by God’s love and called into service for the thriving of neighbor and world. Sunday 10a or Wednesday 6:15p at Peace Lutheran Plymouth.

What will the Vocation small groups discuss? Grace & vocation.

God already loves you. You can’t do anything to make God love you more than God already loves you right this minute. God has already claimed you and called you. As it says in the verses from Isaiah 43, “I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine…You are precious in my sight…and I love you.” You don’t have to prove or earn anything! This is where we, as Lutherans, start: with God’s action towards us.

If we don’t have to worry about our own status with God – if God already loves and accepts us – then we are free to turn outward and love our neighbor. We are free to love because God first loved us.

In Matthew 22:37-39 we hear Jesus lay out the cornerstones of his ministry: love God, love your neighbor. Jesus even suggests that these two are connected. The love we have from God and for God plays out in the love we share with those around us.

So you see, the whole idea of “vocation,” how God invites us to live as God’s people in this world, starts with God’s love for us. How we respond to that love, then, is our vocation, our calling! And that vocation or calling is lived out in a variety of ways and in a number of different roles in each of our lives: as a parent or spouse, as a teacher or business person, as a neighbor or volunteer.