Books in the mail!

Last week I received an unexpected treat in the mail: a free book! The wonderful folks over at Westminster Bookstore (namely Mark Traphagen) sent me Charles Drew's new book "A Journey Worth Taking" and it looks like it will be a very helpful and encouraging book.

From my cursory glance, the book looks to tear down the idea that "calling" is only something that people who are going into full time ministry get and instead restore the Biblical idea that God has called each person, in a myriad of ways, to worship Him through the gifts He has supplied them with.

This is from a quote from an interview with the author:

It is not always easy to worship while we work. Thanks to the fall, there is no job—whether it is raising children, running a bank, or working as a carpenter—that does not have its dreariness. Nevertheless, God made us for work, Jesus is present with us in our work, and Jesus will one day completely fix work. For these reasons, we should seek occasions to thank God for and in our work. Simply to be given something to do that brings order into our life is cause for thanks. If we get paid for it, all the better. Work often presents us with people to love—and this is good for us (especially when it is hard). There are, or course, those occasional jobs (or occasional tasks within a particular job) that we actually enjoy doing—for which it is only right to worship God. Then there is the recollection of how much worse work might be for us if we lived at a different time or under different circumstances—a recollection that should train our faith to see the hand of the Redeemer at work, and to thank him. Finally, there is the promise of consummation—of a coming world in which all toil will finally be taken from our work—and for this hope we worship God (especially when we are acutely aware of the toil in what we are presently doing).

I am looking forward to reading through the book and I will be posting a more comprehensive review once I read through it.

If you are interested, you can also preview the table of contents, the introduction, and the first chapter.

Oh, and in case you are tempted, don't even waste your time looking for this over at Really-Big-South-American-River. WTS has great prices, great shipping rates, and fantastic service.