Missions and Calling
Are you struggling with what to do with your life?
“What is God’s call on my life?”
“I was called to this.”
If you have been a part of “church world” for any amount of time, the likelihood you have heard at least one, if not both, of those phrases is incredibly high. It makes sense—we all want to know that we are on the right track, and ultimately that our lives matter.
But I think we often cheapen the true biblical meaning of calling and end up confusing ourselves. We so want clear answers that we reduce God into a kind of genie that is supposed to grant us the desires of our hearts and show us the one right path to walk. And sadly, these cheap definitions not only affect our personal lives, but our communities and ultimately our ability to actually live into our true calling.
The truth is, according to the Bible, all Christians are called to the same thing.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 CSB
Really, that’s it (if you can really call that weighty task “it”). We are called to make disciples; to share God’s great news with others and teach them all about Him.
Of course, we can do that in a lot of different ways, right? And that seems to be where we get tripped up, trying to mold these secondary actions into our true calling.
That’s where a theology of work comes in. All the way back to Genesis, even before the fall, Adam and Eve had jobs to do. They got to take care of the Garden of Eden. Even now, we are called to use our work to glorify God. Because we are made in the image of God, we all have unique skills and passions that reflect Him and build up his Kingdom here and now. Our job is to lean in and find those.
Then we get to use those skills to make disciples. And here is where (maybe) the most important part comes in, especially if you have ever struggled with the idea of calling. God really isn’t a vindictive genie. Yes, He has called us all. Yes, He has given us each unique passions and skills particularly suited to make disciples. But He is not sitting on high somewhere looking down and quietly “tsking” as you veer off the supposed path. I don’t think I can fully explain it because God is God and I am most definitely not, but when I take time to go to Him first, I find that the things I thought were so important often tend to change.
Even my career choice.
He wants me to submit my life to Him and follow Him. And from there—as I see it—there are a lot of different paths I can walk down with Him.
So is God calling you to missions? I can give you the short answer right now: yes. He is calling you to obediently follow Him and reflect his love and character to those around you.
The question I can’t answer for you in this blog is if God is calling you to overseas missions. That is something you are going to have to take up with Him. But if you want someone to walk alongside you in this process, you can always send us a message!
