This vocation also has the aspect of "life work." This involves what you do for a living. It is not an accident. You see work as a God-given privilege to provide for your own and to provide for the financial support of His kingdom on earth.

Quality two: This life has an avocation.

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines avocation with these words and phrases: "Diversion. Distraction. A subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation, especially for enjoyment. Hobby." Do you have an avocation? Do you have a diversion with a purpose? Do you have some kind of athletic outlet that provides exercise for your body and mind? Are you taking seriously the privilege of social relationships, investing yourself in friendships? Are you engaged in some kind of servant ministry? It is not your professional employment, but, at the same time, it is something that you take as seriously as your employment. Most likely, these avocations will bring life and vitality to your years of gainful employment and then will follow you on into retirement, making those years every bit as meaningful and purposeful as the years in which you were at the peak of your professional activity. I commend to you a book written by my friend, Bob Buford, titled HALFTIME. You will hear more about this book and this concept in the months ahead, as we are going to proactively encourage you to stop and reassess where you are in life, so as to make the rest of your life more meaningful than the first part of your life. You don't have to wait until retirement for this. Right now, you are privileged to reassess and discover the abundant life that God has for you when you take seriously both your vocation and your avocation.

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Quality three: This life has a vacation.

Every life needs a vacation. I know some people who pride themselves in not taking vacations. They are workaholics. Life is all serious. They literally burn themselves up in ways that destroy the ultimate contribution that they could make.

A number of weeks ago, Lydia preached an excellent message on "Sabbath." It was a great message. At the same time, some of you were upset that she would even mention such an outdated concept. Don't kid yourself. If you do not take at least one full day of a week off for worship, renewal, recreation, you will probably get all those days off in a row in the breakdown of body and spirit. You are built for renewal. If you do not take an annual vacation of some sort, in which you get away from the routine for refreshment, you will suffer burnout. Think creatively as to how to use your vacation time to the best advantage. That is part of abundant living, not just letting life happen to you — Life-Minus — but life enabled by the Holy Spirit — Life-Plus.

I will never forget a message I heard at the Park Street Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts, the end of June, 1968. I had flown up from Key Biscayne, Florida, to help my sister and brother-in-law, Miriam and David Rockness, pack and move at the time they graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to their new church call in Grand Haven, Michigan. Together, we went to the Park Street Church on that Sunday evening. Dr. Harold Ockenga gave a simple, three-point sermon on how every life needs a vocation, an avocation, and a vacation. He mentioned that the next morning he was leaving on vacation for his summer home in New Hampshire. He said, "I have been working since last September, drinking from the fresh waters of the well. Now the well is exhausted, and I am down to the bottom, sucking muck." It is time for refreshment of these summer weeks, and I look forward to coming home in September with a fresh, new energy and resource.