Calling can become a mysterious buzzword.
When we think of God’s call on our lives, the stories that come to mind are tremendous, like Moses and the burning bush, Samuel in the middle of the night or Saul on the Damascus Road.
These accounts are powerful. No doubt. They remind us that God will stop at nothing to accomplish His redemptive plan for all of creation. When reflecting on these examples, the temptation is to wait, idly, for that epic moment to show up in our lives.
So we sit. And we wait. And we sit. And we wait some more.
In our sitting and waiting, we miss out on the call that God has placed on our lives before the very foundation of the Earth (Ephesians 2:8-10) because we’re waiting for something bigger.
This week Pastor Ben shared the three aspects of calling that apply to every believer. We’re first called to salvation and then sanctification. When we say “Yes” to Jesus, we’re laying down our lives, wants, and desires for the life, purpose, and desires He has for us, according to His Word. We grow in grace and knowledge as Holy Spirit transforms our hearts and minds to align with Christ’s.
The third call is one of service. The temptation, as we saw earlier, is to sit and wait for the call. Not the common call of faithfulness that every believer is called to: steward our gifts, make disciples and build Christ’s kingdom here on earth. We wait for something special. Something just for us. The epic, earth-shaking, sun-stand-still, fire-from-heaven call that seems to stop time and shine a singular beam of light on us at that moment. Something that makes us the hero of the story.
There’s no doubt God has a specific call on your life. Throughout scripture, we see that God chooses specific people to accomplish his purposes.
We look at Esther, who was called to a seemingly impossible task of preventing genocide. We look at Mary, who was called to bear the Savior of the World. We look at Timothy, a young pastor doing his best to shepherd his fledging congregation amidst cultural chaos.
The problem is ignoring the common call of faithfulness or even the specific call because it just isn’t big enough.
Pastor Ben reminded us that “the size of your assignment never determines the significance of your impact.”
Don’t look down on what God has called you to do. Don’t be envious of another person’s call. Seemingly big or small, there’s work to be done here on earth. Rejoice! The God of the universe had prepared good works for you that were determined before the world was formed. By his grace, we can participate in God’s redemptive plan for all creation.
Whether it’s to family, the workplace, the arts, the mission field, vocational ministry, any other line of work or any combination of those things, know this: God has placed you to reflect the light of Jesus, to see your community transformed by the power of the Gospel.
Want to discover that specific call? Then start being faithful with the basics (1 Corinthians 1:26). Already know your specific call? Good. Let’s get to work!
As we serve, let’s do so living lives worthy of the Gospel – being faithful in the common and specific things God has called us to do. Let’s not be envious of the call of others. After all, we aren’t building our own platforms, but serving and building in Christ’s unshakeable Kingdom, until He returns.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14