Thursday, October 10, 2013
VOCATION: LIFE IN THE OLD & NEW WORLDS
"When God, through the orders he has established, deals with man, he aims to save man in heaven, and he wants man to serve his neighbor. In the law which speaks in the vocations of men God compels man without the assent of his heart to serve others. Thereby the old man is crucified, the neighbor is helped, and, through his cross, man himself is advanced on the way toward heaven and salvation, all by one concrete action of God. In the gospel the gate of heaven is opened, and a miracle takes place. He who enters heaven immediately descends in love, in 'free bondage.' He gives himself to the care of his neighbor, concerned about his well-being. Thus God carries forward his double work in new concrete action, not now without the assent of man's heart, but with the heart through the Word and the Spirit. The freedom of faith does not dissolve vocation. On the contrary, is sustains it and gives it new life" [Gustaf Wingren, Luther On Vocation, 1957 (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2004), 66].
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