Plantinga talks in this chapter about our vocation and how it applies to a creation that is fallen needs regeneration. We are citizens of the kingdom of God. There are two types of citizens—those who were prime citizens and those who are just good citizens. The prime citizens are those who are active in the kingdom, who are yeaning after the restoration of the kingdom. The good citizen on the other hand is one who is part of the kingdom, but is apathetic in its restoration. Plantinga brings up that God uses people to bring about the kingdom. But God does not just use one set group of people, but rather all different kinds of people.
Plantinga tells us that we need to act in our vocation as a prime citizen for the kingdom—always yearning. How does this apply to us as students? The Bible tells us that we must “love the Lord our God with all our minds,” which also means developing our minds to their full extent. We need to learn more about the kingdom in order to yearn for it at a greater capacity. Education is also important because we need to be prepared. We need to be ready to answer the questions of non-believers. The world does not stop learning, and we must be intellectually at the same level as them. What also is more important than what we do is how we do it.
Some problems can arise with trying work within our vocation if we try to do it on our own strength. The two problems that are most prominent are pride and desperation. When relying on our own strength, we find pride in ourselves, sinfully not giving the glory to God. When our strength fails, and we are not able to accomplish our goals, we despair in our vocation and in ourselves. We cannot truly do anything in our own strength, but rather must rely in the power of God.
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