Calling
In Romans chapter one Paul talks about his calling. He was called to be an apostle. He also addresses the issue of his apostleship as a calling to call the nations to Jesus Christ.
Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-- 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Emphasis mine.
Our calling is not something I hear people talk about a lot. Calling is a word which implies that the person who is called is taking direction from the one doing the calling. We would be defined in terms of the person doing the calling. Men and women are hesitant to even let their spouses have expectation, or be defined in terms of their roles in the marriage. The post-modern sees self-definition as a means of expression and sometimes sort of like a style. "It is arbitrary but it is mine." Blogger allows a person to define themselves in terms of interests. I see a lot of people even work hard to defy the category of interest. Interests--cats, bridge, anything happening after work, broken records and movies. (By the way, none of those are mine. If you want to see mine, check out my profile.) The calling that Paul had was not arbitrary. He was fitting into a bigger plan for his life and the life of the nations who were being called and in to the life of the Jewish beleiver communinity. The sense of calling was not even totally about God or Paul, but God's plan for Gentile beleivers. Today we often want to throw off any outside expectations but Paul's faithfullness to God required self-sacrifice and a sense of calling. I have a passions to see every tribe, every tongue, and every nation serving the one true and living God. I want to preach the gosple where it never has been preached before. I want to see people live in community, community that goes beyond an individual, or family, it extends beyond a single congregation. I want to teach and preach the Word of God. What is your calling?
Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-- 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Emphasis mine.
Our calling is not something I hear people talk about a lot. Calling is a word which implies that the person who is called is taking direction from the one doing the calling. We would be defined in terms of the person doing the calling. Men and women are hesitant to even let their spouses have expectation, or be defined in terms of their roles in the marriage. The post-modern sees self-definition as a means of expression and sometimes sort of like a style. "It is arbitrary but it is mine." Blogger allows a person to define themselves in terms of interests. I see a lot of people even work hard to defy the category of interest. Interests--cats, bridge, anything happening after work, broken records and movies. (By the way, none of those are mine. If you want to see mine, check out my profile.) The calling that Paul had was not arbitrary. He was fitting into a bigger plan for his life and the life of the nations who were being called and in to the life of the Jewish beleiver communinity. The sense of calling was not even totally about God or Paul, but God's plan for Gentile beleivers. Today we often want to throw off any outside expectations but Paul's faithfullness to God required self-sacrifice and a sense of calling. I have a passions to see every tribe, every tongue, and every nation serving the one true and living God. I want to preach the gosple where it never has been preached before. I want to see people live in community, community that goes beyond an individual, or family, it extends beyond a single congregation. I want to teach and preach the Word of God. What is your calling?
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