In my post a few days ago titled "I wonder" a few students of mine took offense to my musings. This is great, they were wanting to defend the cause of their parents who are working in Papua as translators, a noble work. I would have wanted to defend as well, since my parents were missionaries. They made a comment about their parents being called to their work and that made me wonder again. What does that mean being called? My parents also were called, Pastors are called, my brother was called to France...are we all called? Are we called to saving faith and then called to a ministry? Can we be called to whatever vocation we choose or is any vocation we choose a calling. Does it matter? Is a calling a desire?
Paul talks that some of us are called to be pastors, teachers etc. so is calling using our gifts in the local body here and beyond? If that is true, then we are all called to use our gifts within the local body to the glory of God?
On a side...when I wonder, I really am wondering! When I wonder about what a missionary is, I really do wonder? It is my fundamental desire to use words to describe what is, rather then what we want it to be.
When Scotty W. asked us if we wanted to go to Fiji to be directors of their school ..was that a calling and we said no? Or...are we called here to Lynden because that is where we are?
All my life I was told not only by my parents but by the Christian community that being in ministry was the highest calling...If I did not go into full time ministry somehow whatever else I was doing was not going to be as good as being a missionary or whatever other full time ministry was out there.
In this kind of thinking we do a disservice to all who are following Jesus in whatever "calling" they have. Scott who works in a refinery every day in the cold and rain, rubbing shoulders with souls is called to this hard work so he does his best work. If we uphold the ordinary tasks ...doesn't the call to be the best make every job a full time ministry?
We have to stop placing work in categories of called work and not-called work. This makes everything we do that good work if it is translating in Papua or refinery work in Ferndale. Maybe being called is the attitude in which we do our work wherever or whatever it is.
1 comment:
I know the quandary - my maternal grandmother longed that all of her descendents be missionaries. None yet - an issue for my Dad, who applied to SIM 3 times before they told him to stop applying. How then do you handle your mother's dreams for you?? I seemed to pick up this dream and it was a number of years - including an application to TWR - before I concluded that the calling is for faithful service wherever God calls you - whether it had a passport included or not. So we pour our lives into our local church and other areas of service - thankful for the opportunity to minister as He leads. - lew
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