7/17/98: More errands downtown, including another visit to the Embassy of India because we still don’t have our visas. We ended the day with dinner and a game of UNO with the Stan and Martha B…
NOTE: The photo above is interior view of the dome on St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
7/17/23: By this date we were 116 days into our journey and were near the end of our stay in the fifth country on our trip. We shipped a box full of gifts, curious and travel guides back home for just $40. Before heading back to the SIM guest house, we visited the Kenya National Archives to learn more about Kenya’s history.
I also met with Stefan H. at Life Challenge Africa once again. We had an encouraging and challenging conversation about what it means to serve as a missionary in a foreign country, the difference between “getting a job” and “having a calling” especially as it relates to serving in Christian ministry, whether at home or abroad.
I’ve thought about that topic a lot over the years. It reminds me of the apocryphal story of the Christopher Wren and three brick layers working on a cathedral. A catastrophic fire swept through London in 1666 destroying a large part of the city including St. Paul’s Cathedral. Famed architect Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild the cathedral. As the story goes, one day Wren stopped and spoke to three different brick layers working on the building. He asked each one: “Who are you and what are you doing?” The first answered: “I am a brick layer working hard to feed my family.” The second replied: “I am a builder, building the walls of a church.” The third man said: “I am a cathedral builder. I am building a house of God.” All three men were laying bricks, but each one had a different understanding of what that meant. For one man laying bricks was a job, for another it was a sort of career, and for the third it was more like a calling.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, made it clear that all of His followers are to be “salt and light.” (Matthew 5:13-16) That is, every Christian has the “job” and “career” of living in a divinely distinct way that shows the world the way back to God. But Jesus also gave some disciples, the Apostles (“sent ones”), a special calling to go out and proclaim: “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matthew 10:1-15). In the Book of Acts, and other New Testament writings, both principles are extended to all Christians at all times. 1 Corinthians 12, for example, describes the Church (all Christians!) as a “body,” with each person/part having specific “gifts” which are to be used for the benefit of the others.
If you are a Christian, you definitely have a “job” and “career.” Be sure to live as “salt and light.” But you also may have a “call” to some more specific role to serve God and His world. Be obedient, because either way, you have an important part to play in building God’s kingdom.