…so that I may finish my race
with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus… —Acts 20:24
{CHAMBERS} “Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the
specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully
doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from
doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has
sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). […] We each have to find a niche in
life […] “Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed
My sheep” (John 21:17). […] The call is to be faithful to the ministry you
received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there
is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that
you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes
require ignoring demands for service in other areas.”
{ELGIN} A lot has been
written about the “Call”. There are many
aspects to it. All Christians are
referred to as “the called”. (Romans 1:5-7)
“Through him [Jesus] we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles
to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are
among those Gentiles who are called to
belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people…” In that
sense the calling set us apart from the world and we were “called”, as it were,
to belong to God .. adopted .. joint heirs with Christ. (Philippians
3:14) “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Our calling is something that must be
pursued. We are not supposed to live our
lives passively … but are to draw close to God .. by faith .. rejecting the
temptation to be conformed to this world (Romans
12:2), but instead being transformed into the image … the reflection of Jesus
Christ.
We are called to follow after
Jesus. (1 Peter 2:21) “To this you
were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (Romans
8:28-30) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those
who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And
those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those
he justified, he also glorified.” The
Greek term for "church","ekklesia" means
"assembly". It's root words, "ek" ("out of") and
"kalein" ("call") refer to a special group being called out
from the broader community for a purpose, such as Christians being called from
worldly life to "life in the Spirit".
If you don’t feel that you
have a specific – unique calling to a specific ministry – I would argue that
point – since we all have been gifted by the Spirit for the benefit of the body
of Christ and testimony to the world – I want to encourage you to embrace that truth
that you have been called out of your old life … the norms and values of the culture
you live in, to a new life in Christ. (Galatians 2:20) says that in the
context of that calling … you should live in a manner that shows you are dead toward
this world but alive toward God. Living
a life of faith. That is the calling for
all of the saints … no matter what role in the body you have been called to …
all to the glory of God. So … is your life bringing glory to God? I hope so.
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