After a very successful career in nursing, pharmacy, and teaching at the university level, Dr. Kaufman also attained a Master of Theology degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Today he serves on Dr. Floyd’s staff team at Pinnacle Hills. A prolific reader, Dr. Kaufman has authored numerous articles on topics in medicine and theology.

For many years prior to the Reformation, people who devoted themselves to full-time vocational ministry in the church or monastery were considered to be more spiritually minded than those who worked in “secular” vocations. Of course, this was (and is) a false dichotomy, but one that persists in the minds of many people today. Following the Reformation, however, the Christian doctrine of vocation began to be revived, though it is still relatively forgotten. “It is odd that such a liberating, life-enhancing doctrine has become all but forgotten in our time, passed over in our seminaries, sermons, and Bible classes… At a time when, according to the polls, people’s major preoccupations are work and family, there has never been a greater need to recover the Christian doctrine of vocation,” writes Gene Veith in his excellent book, God At Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

Vocation comes from the Latin word for “calling,” and concerns the way in which God providentially works through people to care for His creation. For example, God provides our daily bread by means of the farmer, the grocer, the cook, the lady at the check-out counter, etc. He protects us by means of the police officer, the fireman, and the military (cf. Rom. 13:1-2). He cares for our health needs by means of the doctor, the nurse, the pharmacist, and others in the healthcare professions. He brings children into the world, and cares for them through fathers and mothers. And the list goes on.

Martin Luther called vocation a “mask of God.” He said that God milks the cows by means of the milkmaid. And while you and I may see a menial worker and even be so presumptuous as to look down our noses at them, behind the humble facade looms God Himself, providing milk for His children. Thus, the doctrine of vocation gives dignity to every job, no matter how menial it may seem. Whether we are changing diapers or sweeping floors, therefore, God is working in and through us. And we are serving both God and our fellow man.

We too are masks of God in all of our multiple callings.  Whether we serve in the church, government, business, or the family, we are all called to serve God in our vocation as we live out our faith in the daily routines of life. The purpose of every vocation is to love and serve our neighbor. Each day God sends people our way whom we can serve through our vocations. We are to love God by serving His creatures through our calling. 

Husbands and wives, are you loving and serving one another? Parents, are you loving and serving your children?  Children, are you loving and serving your parents?  Office and factory workers, are you loving and serving your customers? Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, are you loving and serving your patients? We are all called to love and serve one another through our vocations, and when we do, God is working through us—We are the Mask of God!