Consider Your Calling

"Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild restless sea;

day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying 'come and follow Me'"

-- Cecil Alexander

The Bible is a book of stories about men and women and young people whom God has called. Now, we are a part of that on-going saga. God still calls people, all kinds of people; God still calls us to follow His leading.

To be "called" is to be "invited," to be "summoned." Consider your calling.

It's God who calls us -- none other than the almighty, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise, everlasting and eternal God! The God who created thousands of universes! The God who is the source of all life! The God who showers us with blessings every day! The God who provides for our every need! The God who loves us deeply and cares about what happens to us! The God who has a role for each of us to play in the drama of life, who has a purpose for each of us to fulfill!

If we received a call from the president or the governor, we would consider it an honor and a privilege to respond to the invitation, to answer the summons. How much more of an honor and privilege to respond to God's call!

Consider the "call." We tend to think of God's call as an invitation to do something. Not so. God's summons is for us to be something; we are called to become God's kind of people before we can do His bidding.

First, we are called to be holy. We were all created in God's likeness -- created to be holy. God didn't leave anything to chance -- He gave us the perfect example in Jesus of what a holy person looks like and lives like.

Secondly, we are to be faithful. To be faithful is to believe that God is 100 percent right at all times, in every situation. To be faithful is to trust God's judgment fully and completely. To be faithful is to believe that God alone knows, and desires, what is best for us.

Third, we are to be obedient. As we trust God -- so will we obey God. Whatever it is that God asks of us, we will do it. Without hesitation, without question. Obedience is always saying "yes" to God.

Finally, we are to be open and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Driving home from shopping, I was going past a member's house when, on a sudden impulse, I turned into their driveway. I went up to the house and rang the doorbell. The member said, "Pastor, how did you know that we needed you at just this moment?" In my years as a camp director, I would plan intensely for the first two days; then I would plan tentatively for the rest of the week to allow a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to work. That's why our camp week was such a success. So, we plan our lives down to the last detail -- and get upset and angry when our plans go awry. What greater thing might happen, how much better life might be if we left room for the Holy Spirit to work.

Consider your calling. On our way to becoming, we are summoned to do what God wants to be done: (1) we are to worship God -- worship keeps our attention focused on who is most important; (2) we are to pray -- prayer is our open line to God; (3) we are to fellowship with one another -- fellowship is the key that binds us together and keeps us together; (4) we are to observe the Sacraments -- remember our Baptism, our adoption into the family of God, and remember the sacrifice Christ made on the Cross as we partake of the bread and the wine; (5) we are to be good stewards of all that God has entrusted to our care; (6) we are to do good works -- we are to be servants of God in His world.

Moving from being to doing. God first calls us to be like Christ; then God calls us to do Christ's work, to continue the work Christ began. So, whatever our vocation -- whatever it is that we do to earn a living -- let us be Christ-like. A farmer takes seriously his task of being a good care-taker of God's creation. A teacher loves and cares about each of her students. A factory-worked takes pride in doing his job well. A housewife teaches her children about God's love and grace and leads each one to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. A doctor sees himself as a healer, an extension of the Great Physician. A waitress treats all her customers as Jesus would treat them.

Whatever our vocation, our job, we can let people around us know that we are Christians by the way we do things and treat people.

Don Kuehle is a retired United Methodist minister who lives in Jackson. Opinions expressed are those of the author.