Just inside the door of Sandie Weaver’s office in the lower level of Metzger Hall hangs a framed quotation from Oswald Chambers. Sandie is the Senior Director of Financial Planning & Operations at 51, which means that she is on a mission to make sure 51 carefully plans for its financial future and lives within the constraints of whatever funds God brings into the university. I love walking into her office and immediately encountering this quote from Oswald Chambers. Sandie has had these words hanging on the wall of her office for more than 30 years to remind her that she labors to do what she does—not merely because it is wise and necessary—but because God called her to do it. Here is the quote from Oswald Chambers:

“It is easier to serve God

without a vision,

easier to work for God

without a call,

because then you are not bothered

by what God requires;

common sense is your guide,

veneered over with Christian sentiment…

BUT

If once you receive

a commission from Jesus Christ,

the memory of what God wants

will always come like a goad;

and you will no longer

be able to work for Him

on the common-sense basis.”[1]

[1] Quote taken from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1956), 64.