Have You Ever Wondered What Your Calling Is?

I have been a believer for over 50 years and I have heard a lot of teachings and sermons on receiving a “CALLING” from God.  I think most of those teaching have been about some type of ministry calling yet rarely are they on what Jesus meant when referring to the idea of calling. In my estimation, Jesus rarely talked about ministry calling and almost exclusively talked about the calling that God presents to mankind for relationship.

Take, for instance, the time Jesus calls Matthew to follow him. Matthew was a tax collector and an outcast in the Jewish culture because tax collectors worked for the Roman government. They were known as major sinners and therefore hated by most Jews. Matthew seems to embrace Jesus as his Rabbi and starts to follow him and the first thing he does is have a big dinner where only  his friends attend, who are also known major sinners. A pharisee starts talking to the disciples and complaining about the company that Jesus keeps.  This Pharisee doesn’t talk to just one disciple.  He seems to talk to them all, which would have started a big argument. Isn’t that just like religious people to always want to argue or cast blame?

Jesus makes an astounding comment when he says that he came to call the sick, not the well, and he refers to sick in sin, not in body. So, the question for all of us is:  Did we admit that we lived a lifestyle of sin before we started to follow Jesus or did we just start following without admitting our sickness? The first stage of the calling of Jesus has to with leaving our life of sin, which is living contrary to God’s will in our lives.

Matthew 9:12-13

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus reminds us that being healed by him starts with our heart and how we view and treat people. Having compassion relates to desiring to help people, not hurt them, and this demonstrates our heart has changed.  This seems very different than the current day call to accept Jesus. Today’s call to salvation seems to be all about us and not about our surrender to the will and plan of God.

The apostle Peter uses the term “Calling” in the context of admitting our need of healing from sin and then moving into an intimate relationship with Jesus. Peter’s describes the idea of calling as God asking us to come to him for relationship and forgiveness.  Some Christians have been taught incorrectly that God “Makes Us” follow him and that salvation from sin has nothing to do with us choosing to surrender to God.  Paul and Peter teach that we have a choice because God gave us the freedom to choose or reject.

Acts 2:38-39

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

In the main parable where calling is used, Jesus talks about a king holding a wedding feast for his son. The people that were “Called” or invited to the wedding chose “NOT” to accept the invitation so the king rejected them. They were invited but lost their invitation through their rejection of the invitation, not because the king rejected them outright.

Matthew 22:5 & 8

“But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, [8] “Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

As the parable goes on, the king invites the common person on the street, which would have been unheard of. In reality, he was inviting rich and poor alike to the wedding meal. However, there was a man who got into the wedding hall without wedding clothes. The wedding hall clothing had nothing to do with cost but everything to do with “RESPECT” for the king and his son. When the man was discovered, the king had this man thrown out of the wedding even though he had an invitation. The man failed to respect his invitation and thus Jesus coined the phrase, – Many Are “CALLED” But Few Are “CHOSEN”.

Matthew 22:14

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Our calling is to accept that we have sinned and then start to follow. If we fail to acknowledge our rebellion towards God and his commands then we are ultimately rejected because we refuse to admit our rebellion. Our acceptance or rejection is all based on our choice to embrace God.  He lets us choose our destiny.  Our destiny doesn’t choose us.

Our calling is to embrace God as our Father so that he embraces us as his adopted children. God’s love is waiting to embrace us if we will embrace him. This is a choice God gives to every person.  Unfortunately, few take God up on his offer to be family.

John 1:11-12

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

When some asks you if you know your calling in Christ, tell them that it is to love him and love the Father with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Your gifting in Christ is very different from our calling. The apostle Paul gets into gifting in 1 Corinthians 12 & 14, as well as Ephesians 4. These gifts are what we are given to help build the body of Christ and reach the lost. Our calling is to love God and others, which are the two greatest commandments.

Matthew 22:36-38 & 40

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. 40) On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Finally, consider Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:18.  Paul prays for spiritual enlightenment regarding our real calling in God. It is our inheritance when we became adopted into the family of our Heavenly Father.

Ephesians 1:17-18

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

May God help us to embrace our invitation to be called into relationship with our Heavenly Father and embrace God’s tremendous love. No calling is greater than this!

Questions:

1) Have you been fooled or shamed because you didn’t know God’s calling for your life? If you are loving God and drawing close to him then you have your calling so never be embarrassed when someone brags about their gifting as if it’s a greater calling than yours.

2) Are you spending more time and resources on your gifting than your calling? There is no greater calling than to love God with all your mind, heart, soul and strength.

Pastor Dale