Joseph told his brothers,
“So it was not you who sent me here but God...” (Genesis 45:8
ESV). Mordecai told Esther, “Who knows whether you have not come to
the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). God told
Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the
nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
These few examples from
Scripture point to a couple truths. Although some people, such as
Jeremiah, receive a clear calling from God for a specific mission,
most of us are called to follow God in whatever circumstances we may
find ourselves. We tend to think of “calling” as a directive to
pursue a career in ministry, but God is calling each of us to be
ministers of His love and grace in whatever career we pursue.
For Joseph, Esther,
Jeremiah, and many others in Scripture, the calling to do something
spectacular was only fulfilled because they were faithfully seeking
God in the normal course of life. Service to God was part of life,
not a separate, unique vocation. God uses those who are faithful in
the small things. We can’t expect to receive a divine word of
commissioning if we aren’t committed to doing the tasks that are
close at hand. And Scripture is pretty clear about the things we are
to be doing day by day: loving others, making disciples, serving the
church, worshiping together, praying for others, etc.
In addition, these people
were called by God for an important purpose, but they did not fully
understand that calling until troubled times hit. Joseph went through
slavery and imprisonment before he had the opportunity to save his
family and thereby ensure the future of Israel. Esther faced the
potential decimation of the Jews before she really knew why she was
in the palace. Jeremiah learned his calling up front, but he had the
unpleasant job of calling Judah to repentance as captivity was
coming. In the process he endured death threats and various other
difficulties. God’s calling is not to a life of ease but to a life
of purpose. And given the fallen nature of our world, fulfilling
God’s purpose requires us to walk through suffering, not away from
it. It is human nature to want to seek out comfort and pleasure, but
that is not where God is doing most of His work. We seem to be easily
deterred from obeying God’s calling whenever it is inconvenient,
uncomfortable, or potentially dangerous to our lives, careers, or
reputations.
Everybody likes the first
half of Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who are called according to
His purpose.” However, we can’t take that verse out of the
context of the rest of the chapter, which talks about setting the
mind on the things of the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the
body, suffering with Christ, enduring the corruption of the world,
tribulation, distress, persecution, etc. Being called to the purpose
of God takes place in the context of the challenges of life in a
fallen world. It is through the suffering of this life that we are
conformed to the image of Christ “in order that we may also be
glorified with Him” (8:17).
We are all called to
follow God, but that calling is going to look different for each of
us because each life is unique. Whether spectacular or mundane,
public or private, upper class or third world, may we be found
faithful to Him day by day.
“For to this you
have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you
an example, so that you might follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
©
2016 Dawn Rutan.
