Vocation is God's purposeful calling upon a person's life — both to salvation and to specific works and roles he has ordained for them. The NT distinguishes two dimensions: the general calling — the universal call to repentance, faith, and holy living (1 Cor 7:17); and the particular calling — the specific work, role, and station God places each believer in. The Reformers, especially Luther, shattered the medieval idea that only monks and priests had a "calling from God." Every honest occupation — farmer, blacksmith, parent, soldier — is a divine vocation. Paul says that whatever we do, we are to do it as unto the Lord (Col 3:23). Vocation transforms ordinary work into an act of worship and a field of service. The carpenter, when he works faithfully, serves his neighbor — and thereby serves God.
VOCATION, n. [L. vocatio, from voco, to call.] 1. A call; a summons; a strong inclination or tendency to a particular state or course of life. 2. Designation or appointment to a particular state, business, or profession. 3. The business which a person follows for a subsistence; employment; occupation; calling. 4. In theology, the calling of a person by the Holy Spirit, to embrace the Gospel and live a holy life.
• Ephesians 4:1 — "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called."
• Colossians 3:23 — "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
• 1 Corinthians 7:17 — "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him."
• Romans 8:28 — "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
• 2 Timothy 1:9 — "He saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace."
Modern usage strips "vocation" to mere career choice, asking "What do you want to do with your life?" instead of "What has God designed and called you to?" The prosperity gospel inverts vocation entirely — instead of asking how to serve God and neighbor through work, it asks how God can serve your financial ambitions. On the other end, neo-monasticism can revive the medieval error of treating "full-time ministry" as a higher calling than faithful secular work. Both distort vocation. The Reformation insight is radical: God is present in the stable, the courtroom, the kitchen. The plumber who serves his customers honestly glorifies God as surely as the pastor who preaches faithfully. Every station is a theater of divine calling.