Thought for Today
1 Samuel 3:4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!"
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"
Acts 9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord."
“call (calling) (Gr. kalein, ‘to call’; Lat. vocatio, ‘vocation’) God’s summons to salvation, or to a particular work of service, implying a divine selection. God called Moses (Ex. 3:4) and prophets (Jer.1:5). Jesus called apostles (Matt. 4:21; Rom. 1:1) and others (Matt. 9:13; 22:14).” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 36)
I believe God calls all of God’s children to a particular work of service. God selects each of us to a literally ‘tailor-made’ service based on the fact that God knows each of us better than we know ourselves. Genesis makes it clear that humanity was created for service, “2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it . . . 18 Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’" When “2:7 the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being,” it was with that purpose in mind.
But, our callings, our particular works of service are not always obvious. I also believe that our callings can and do change over time. As we grow and learn, as we gain experience we are sometimes called to new and different services.
Sometimes, our callings are a surprise. Was Samuel surprised to hear God’s voice calling? After all, his mother Hannah had named him Samuel, because, she said, "1:20 I have asked him of the LORD." Hannah told her husband, "1:22 As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and remain there forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time." At the time Samuel heard the voice of God calling him, Samuel was ministering to the prophet Eli.
I have always been fascinated by the 2 different callings related in the book of Acts around the epiphany of Saul of Tarsus. I see the hand of God in Saul’s early life, in his preparation studying with the great Pharisee and teacher Gamaliel, in Saul’s love of God and devotion, even though that devotion was initially misdirected. I can only imagine Saul’s ‘shock and awe’ in that encounter on the road to Damascus. I’m sure that God’s calling Saul of Tarsus to become the apostle Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, was unexpected and surprising.
There is a second calling in that story, however. Ananias was called to be the teacher. Ananias knew who Saul of Tarsus was, knew all about the persecutions wrought by Saul. Imagine his surprise at hearing "Acts 9:11 Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying.” Yet, Ananias answered God’s call.
When I began seminary, one of the early classes I was required to take was a seminar titled “Discerning Your Call.” There were only a few of us in the class. There was a mix of ages, some young and several of us ‘of an age.’ Some were answering a call to their first career. Others of us were answering a call to a new and different career. Each of us shared our own call narrative . . . and each experience was unique and different.
I have always thought that it would be better were God to be a bit more obvious and explicit in revealing our callings. However, after long pondering, I cannot help but believe that God knows best (yes, I know, it should be obvious; but, was it obvious to Ananias?) Had God called me at 18, would my answer be the same as it was at 58? Some of us take a little longer to understand. Some of us require a little more preparation before we are ready to understand our particular work of service and to be prepared to do that work. All of us, however, can be assured of a ubiquitous saying we learned in seminary, “God does not call the equipped; God equips the called.”
What is your calling? What particular work of service has God equipped you to perform and is calling you to do?
Stay safe, listen for God’s voice, trust God,
Pastor Ray