Gene Edward Veith Jr. - Family Vocation: Gods Calling In Marriage, Parenting, And Childhood

Family Vocation: Gods Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood

Copyright 2012 by Gene Edward Veith Jr. and Mary J. Moerbe

Published by Crossway

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Cover design: LeVan Fisher Design

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First printing 2012

Printed in the United States of America

Scriptures marked Contemporary English Version are taken from the Contemporary English Version Copyright 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible ( The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked The Holman Christian Standard Bible are from The Holman Christian Standard Bible . Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked King James Version are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are from The Message . Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture references marked New Living Translation are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation , copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL., 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked New International Version (1984) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978m 1984 Biblica, Used by permission of Zondervan. All right reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Scripture references marked New Jerusalem Bible are from The New Jerusalem Bible . Copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Co., Inc.

Scripture quotations marked Today's New International Version are taken from the Holy Bible, Today's New International Version. TNIV . Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-2406-6

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-2407-3

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-2408-0

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2409-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Veith, Gene Edward, 1951

Family vocation : Gods calling in marriage, parenting, and childhood / Gene Edward Veith and Mary J. Moerbe.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.

ISBN 978-1-4335-2406-6 (tp)

1. FamilesReligious life. 2. VocationLutheran Church. 3. Lutheran ChurchDoctrines. I. Moerbe, Mary J., 1980 . II. Title.

BV4526.3.V45 2012

248.8'45dc23 2011035958

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

VP 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book will seem quite a bit different from other Christian books on the family. It applies Martin Luthers doctrine of vocation to the different callings within the family. This cannot be done without pulling along other aspects of Luthers theology. Readers will note here that the gospel does not simply have reference to conversion, what a person responds to in first becoming a Christian. Rather, the gospelthat is, the message of Christ crucified for sinnersrelates to every moment of the believers life. This book is an attempt to bring the gospel into the daily routines of family life. As such, it does not approach the issues through law, by offering moralistic exhortations, rules to follow, or Biblical principles for successful living. Christian freedom is seen not as a grudging concession but as a positive good.

Also, Lutheran spirituality has been described as a theology of presence, teaching not only that Christ is present in the sacraments but also in his Word and in the world. God is not just a transcendent being looking down on the universe; rather, he is actually present, closely and intimately, as he providentially works in the world and in and through our lives. God is hidden in vocation, as Luther says, and Christ is hidden in our neighbors.

It has been said that American Christians lack a theology of suffering. That cannot be said of Luther with his theology of the cross. Thus, this book will deal with the hard issues of family life in a realistic, yet redemptive way. Also, Lutheran spirituality is very anti-gnostic; that is, it affirms the spiritual significance of matter, physical things, and the body. We hope that will not prove too embarrassing.

We must emphasize, though, that no one has to be a Lutheran (as we are) to agree with these ideas and to benefit from this book. This is the heritage of all Protestant Christians. Despite all of the theological differences that emerged soon after the Reformation, all of the various factionsCalvinists, Arminians, Zwinglians, Anglicans, Anabaptistswould probably agree with most and maybe all of Luthers teachings about vocation and the family. And though we are rather hard on monasticism and clerical vows of celibacy, even non-Protestant Christians should find much of this treatment helpful. Christians have a great resource in their own heritage, which, though often overlooked in our contemporary-flavored churches of today, is actually very helpful in addressing contemporary problems, such as those that plague many Christian families.

This is an evangelical book, exploring Gods Word in depth and also permeated with the evangel, the good news of Christ. Luther and his followers were the first evangelicals, that is, the first to be called evangelicals. In fact, evangelical and evangelical theology is the preferred terminology, especially in Europe, for Lutheran and Lutheran theology, just as Reformed is often preferred over Calvinist. It may be that contemporary English-speaking evangelicals could find much to learn from those first evangelicals.

This book is a father/daughter project. Yes, it was somewhat weird going through these family issues with our own family experiences and vocational issues looming in our minds, but it was deeply meaningful for us both to work on this together.

This project had its origins in a conference entitled In the Image of God: The Christian Vision for Love and Marriage held on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2006. The event was sponsored by the seminary, LCMS World Relief and Human Care, and the Cranach Institute. The goal was to apply the considerable resources of Lutheran spirituality to marriage and the challenges that contemporary marriages face. The conference drew on the expertise and experience of many Lutheran scholars, pastors, deaconesses, and counselors, but it also featured non-Lutherans working in a similar vein. These included Christopher West, known for applying the Roman Catholic theology of the body to practical marriage counseling; Lauren Winner, the prominent evangelical writer on issues of sex and singleness; and staff members from Focus on the Family.