Mark 5 ~ not all are called to leave everything behind

In Mark 5, Jesus commands a legion of demons out of a man (5:8-13) and afterwards, the man begs Jesus to let him go with Him. As verse 19 says, “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.'”

 
The man’s story in scripture ends with the him spreading his testimony (verse 20). What an important moment this is. While those of us who are passionate about our faith may think we are supposed to drop everything and follow Jesus, that is not what we are called to do. We are called to follow Jesus and share Jesus in our everyday lives. That may mean God calls us to be in the classroom, or in an office job or somewhere else. If every Christian became a priest or minister, the world would fall apart. In a sense, Jesus needs His non-clergy ambassadors out in the world, loving and serving His people who don’t yet know Him or who haven’t yet chosen Him. We are called to live in faith and sharing our faith wherever God calls us. But we are not all called in the same way nor place.

  
After a decade of complacency, I am on fire for Jesus. I’ve even thought, “should I look at working in a Christian-based job?” But then I remembered a blog post I did in the past after the Newtown massacre. People were blaming the lack of God in schools. I clarified that God is still in schools because there are believers in schools trying to extend Christ’s love, grace and mercy to our students, parents and colleagues. I was clearly called to be a teacher. My mother even said I wanted to be a teacher before I could possibly know what one was. That’s a true calling. There are times where I want to walk away, but for now, I can see that there is a place for God to use me in my school. While it may seem easier to spend all my time with other followers of Jesus, I have to engage my world and help create more disciples (Matthew 28:19).

 
But if you are struggling at work, my church recently did a series of sermons called “Made for Monday.” It was extremely impactful to me as it emphasized that when we view our jobs as our calling, we can get more satisfaction from them and more easily accomplish God’s will. If you are unhappy in your job or just need some inspiration in it, I highly recommend you watch the series here.