“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7)
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)
Table of Duties
What does a faithful Christian life look like?
Perhaps you picture someone reading their Bible every morning, praying regularly, attending worship, and serving at church. Those are certainly good things. I absolutely encourage you do those things…But what about the rest of life?
What about changing diapers, answering emails, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, or going to work?
Are those things part of living out your Christian faith?
Martin Luther would answer with an enthusiastic yes.
Near the end of the Small Catechism, Luther includes something called the Table of Duties. It’s a collection of Bible passages that describe how Christians are called to live in their various relationships and responsibilities. There are passages for pastors and congregations, husbands and wives, parents and children, workers and employers, citizens and government leaders, and others.
At first, this might seem like an odd addition to a book that has spent so much time teaching us about God’s grace, forgiveness, and salvation. But there’s an important connection.
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from our works. Yet the faith that receives God’s gifts also produces love for our neighbor.
And where do we find our neighbors? Usually, they’re right in front of us. They’re the people who live in our homes, work alongside us, attend our schools, and share our communities.
We often use the word vocation to describe the callings God gives us in these different areas of life. Sometimes, in today’s language, we think of vocations as our jobs, what we do to earn a living, but here vocation refers to any role or calling we have in our lives, be it an employee or a parent or a child or a neighbor or a citizen, etc. And he taught that God works through ordinary people fulfilling ordinary responsibilities to care for His creation.
Think about the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, where we ask God to give us our daily bread.
How does He answer that prayer?
Often through farmers who grow food, truck drivers who transport it, grocery store workers who sell it, and parents who prepare it.
God provides through people doing their jobs.
The same is true in countless other ways. God cares for children through parents and teachers. He protects people through police officers and other public servants. He heals through doctors and nurses. He encourages the lonely through friends and neighbors.
And He works through you.
And these are not secondary ways of living out your faith, as though church workers are somehow better. I’m paraphrasing here, but Luther once said,
“The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all works are measured before God by faith alone.”
You don’t have to become a pastor or missionary to serve God. Your daily responsibilities are already opportunities to love the people He has placed in your life.
That doesn’t mean every responsibility is easy or that we always fulfill our callings faithfully.
We don’t.
We become impatient with our families, resentful toward coworkers, or careless about our responsibilities. Sometimes we pursue our own interests while neglecting the people who depend on us.
The Table of Duties reminds us that loving our neighbor is not merely a feeling or a good intention. It involves faithfully serving others in the responsibilities God has given us. Faith always comes with works as God works in us to will and do the good deeds He has prepared for us.
And when we fail, we return to Christ.
Jesus fulfilled His calling perfectly. He honored His earthly parents, loved His neighbors, served those in need, and obeyed His heavenly Father even to the point of death on a cross.
He did all of this for us.
Because of Him, our failures are forgiven, and through His Spirit, we are renewed to love and serve others. In other words, we don’t have to keep looking over our shoulder wondering if we’ve done enough for God, Jesus has made us right with God, so we are now free to love our neighbor with joy and fervor.
We don’t serve our neighbors to earn God’s love. We serve them because God has already loved us in Christ.
So as you go about your day, consider the people God has placed in your life.
You may never do anything the world considers extraordinary. But through your ordinary acts of love and service, God is at work caring for the people around you.
And that gives even the most ordinary activity, even changing a diaper, extraordinary purpose.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the many ways You provide for me through the work and service of others. Forgive me for the times I have neglected my responsibilities or failed to love the people You have placed in my life. Help me to recognize my daily callings as opportunities to serve my neighbors. Give me patience, faithfulness, and love in all that I do, trusting that You are at work even through ordinary tasks. Through Jesus Christ, my Lord.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
