Living Out Our Calling

Posted by laurieetta on November 2, 2026 in Being Human | Leave a comment

“The Christian shoemaker does his or her duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” — Attributed to Martin Luther

I’m still hearing Martin Luther’s voice in my head after being immersed in all things Luther during my recent trip to Germany. This quote gets to the heart of one of Luther’s most important teachings: vocation. Luther believed that God works through ordinary people doing ordinary things to care for the world God loves.

We have a habit of assigning different values to different kinds of work. Some jobs are considered prestigious and important, while others are viewed as menial or less honorable. In Luther’s medieval world, those who served the church as priests, monks, and nuns were thought to have a higher, more spiritual calling than those who worked in the fields, raised families, or practiced a trade.

Luther thought that was a bunch of hooey. And I agree.

Luther believed that God calls all of us to serve our neighbors through the work we do. That’s what vocation means. The word comes from the Latin word for “calling.” We are all called by God to care for our neighbors and the world. Whether our work is paid or volunteer, prestigious or unnoticed, in a helping profession or not, it can be an expression of that calling.

I think that’s part of what makes Vincent van Gogh’s Weaver so compelling. When Van Gogh lived in Nuenen, the Netherlands, he became fascinated with the weavers who worked in their homes. According to the Van Gogh Museum, these workers lived in poverty and labored long hours just to earn a living. Van Gogh created sixteen large drawings of them, paying careful attention to the complicated looms that filled their small rooms.

In this painting, the loom dominates the scene, nearly swallowing up the man operating it. There is nothing glamorous about his work. Yet Van Gogh saw something worth capturing in this ordinary laborer’s life. He gave his time and artistic attention to someone the rest of the world might easily overlook.

I wonder if Luther would have appreciated this picture. Here is a man whose work might never be celebrated, yet whose labor serves a purpose. Luther would remind us that his work matters to God. But the weaver’s poverty also reminds us that honoring someone’s vocation means more than praising their hard work. It means recognizing their dignity and caring about the conditions in which they labor. If God values the worker, shouldn’t we?

The Apostle Paul wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Notice those words: whatever you do.

So whatever work lies before you today, consider it part of your calling. Do it well. Treat the people you encounter with kindness and respect. Care for the creation God has entrusted to us. Give thanks for the opportunity to make a difference, however small it may seem. And remember those who are unemployed, underemployed, or struggling to make ends meet. They, too, deserve the dignity of meaningful work and a fair living.

And if you are retired, don’t imagine that your calling has ended. Our jobs may change, but our vocation never really does. There are always neighbors to love, people to encourage, and opportunities to serve.

Being Human connection: Sometimes we spend so much time wondering what God wants us to do with our lives that we overlook what God has already placed before us. Jesus reminds us to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Perhaps our calling begins right there, not with some extraordinary assignment, but with faithfully loving God and our neighbors in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

After all, the world needs good shoes. And good shoemakers.

Featured art: Weaver, Vincent van Gogh, 1884.

Historical information about Van Gogh’s weavers drawn from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (vangoghmuseum.nl).