Vocation and the Kingdom

By -
An important question often raised among young professionals and college students is the relation of vocation and the Kingdom. Not to escape from the norm, I struggled with the issue myself because I was raised in a tradition where Kingdom was limited to Sundays and vocation in its proper place in the rest of the week.

The other day, my friend Pr. Neander, asked me to preach in his church. I prepared an inspirational message with stories from the work of the Africa Mercy in Sierra Leon. I was also going to tell about how my vocation, marine engineer, plays a vital role in what I do today.

God does not see me as a Christian on Sunday and an engineer the rest of the week, but I never understood in practical terms that there is not separation between sacred and secular until I joined the Anastasis where I could be a missionary and an engineer at the same time. Till then, working with ships and on the shipyard was a way to bring finances for the Kingdom of God, almost like a necessary evil.

Just before I was to speak, Neander leaned toward me and ask me to speak also on the role of my vocation in what I do, as this is very important to the young people today. To make things more interesting before the service I met Heber Golveia.

Heber was a young adult at Meyer Baptist Church where I was an assistant youth leader. One Sunday he told me that he worked on Caneco Shipyard. I told him that I had applied to work there. The next day he called me saying that there was an open position at the Warantee Department. To make the story short I began to work in a week.

The two years I worked on the shipyard was essential to the work I did later as the Second Engineer of the Mercy Ships Anastasis. God’s call in our lives involves everything we are, which include our vocation. Heber was used by God on my preparation for what God had in mind for my life. My vocation as a marine engineer is a vital part in God’s calling. There is no separation between my vocation and the Kingdom of God.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Friend

By -
Image
One of the attributes of friendship is that it transcends time and space. Friends may be apart half way around the world, but the instant they get together it is like time and space never existed. This is not different with my friend Benoni and I. We became friends at seventeen and for a decade participate in the most memorable events of each other lives. This time in Rio we had the opportunity to catch up again. 
Read more

Jesus Film

By -
Image
Cheesmanburg is about 50 minute’s drive from the port of Monrovia where the Africa Mercy is docked. Five of us began the 26 kilometers journey short after diner; two Liberian pastors joined the group on the way, which made 7 people on the Land Rover plus the equipment to show the film Jesus. When Ananda Samaraweera told me he was going out with the film Jesus I immediately asked if I could come along. Ananda and I go way back when he joined the Good Samaritan as an engineer. He attended the Good Sam Discipleship Training School in Brazil and was baptized on the Amazon River . It was on the Good Sam that Ananda got involved with the film Jesus and the passion of sharing the message of Jesus’ life to others. When I woke up Saturday morning, I had no doubt we were in the raining season. It poured rain all day long, however late afternoon there was a break; the clouds were still there, and time to time letting down a sprinkle or two, but the heavy rain was gone. The ...
Read more

Forty Years With Mercy Ships

By -
Image
  Today marks a milestone in my career. Forty years ago, on July 2, 1983, I joined the Organization #MercyShips. Back then, the dream to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor was mainly work, a lot of hard work. But as my parents used to tell me, work doesn’t kill anyone; I’m here to say that they were right. In those forty years, I sailed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Visited three continents and ministered in 42 countries. Countless volunteers from around the world worked without ceasing on the first Mercy Ships, the Anastasis, and the other ships that followed her, the Good Samaritan, the Pacific Ruby, the Caribbean Mercy, the #AfricaMercy, and now our newest ship, the #GlobalMercy. #Mercy Ships has delivered services to more than 2.86 million beneficiaries during this time. Provided services and materials in developing countries valued at over $1.77 billion, including the following: Performed more than 108,000 life-changing or life-saving surgical procedu...
Read more