Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:23,24).

"I didn't know you were in full time Christian work," said my close friend as we were driving. "I didn't realize that," she went on. I responded, "Every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in full time Christian work." God calls some to the mission field, others to be a cpa, and others to be advertising executives, still others to be construction workers. God never made a distinction between sacred and secular. In fact, the Hebrew word "avodah" is the root word having the same meaning of "work" and "worship." God sees our work as worship.

We have incorrectly elevated the roll of the Christian worker to be more holy and committed than the person who is serving in a more secular environment. Yet, the call to the secular marketplace is as important as any other calling. God has to have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to know Him because they would be separated from society.

I learned this lesson personally when I sought to go into "full time" service as a pastor in my late twenties only to have God thrust me back into the business world unwillingly. This turned out to be the best thing He could have done for me because it was never His will for me to be a pastor. He knew I was more suited for the marketplace.

We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the marketplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in this place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today. And see your vocation as worship to His glory.