The Key to Discovering Your Calling

Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; 11 so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ~ 2^nd Peter 1:10-11

It occurred to me recently that modern humans worry about an awful lot of stuff that my great-Grandparents would have viewed as trivial and even a little strange.

I suspect that women in my great-Grandmother’s day were far too occupied with issues related to food, clothing and disease to fixate on potty training their infants or agonize over finding a stimulating preschool environment for their toddlers. They didn’t concern themselves with being the “crafty” Mom, nor did they obsess over how to stay sexy into middle age. 

No one gave any thought to the notion of “going vegan” or to the health consequences of excessive gluten. They didn’t expend a lot of energy worrying about what they would do during their retirement years. They were just content to live to their retirement years.

Modern Christians have our own fair share of novel worries. I doubt our spiritual predecessors gave much thought to finding Churches with cutting-edge kid’s and youth programs. They didn’t worry about whether or not they were  “getting fed spiritually.” Previous generations of believers were not consumed with finding their “calling,” nor did they spend a lot of time obsessing about whether or not they were doing “what God made them to do.”

A longing to discover our spiritual calling and be in the center of God’s will is without question a good and healthy desire. But like most of our modern spiritual concerns, this one reveals some misdirected priorities.

Parents should be concerned about their kid’s spiritual growth and development, but what kids really need is to witness their parents attending and supporting their local Church. Kids need Moms and Dads who will faithfully teach them about God and right from wrong much more than they need just the “right” program.

Getting fed spiritually is a well-intentioned ambition. Acquiring the knowledge to feed ourselves is a better ambition. It frees us from the bondage of church-hopping and Bible study bouncing in a never-ending quest for spiritual food. Learning to provide our own spiritual food also enables Christians to teach and serve in local congregations, rather than continuously searching for new and novel places to be served and taught.

I simply cannot find a New Testament passage that clearly instructs Christians to search out their individual calling in Christ. I have found several passages that tell us exactly what believers are called to be. Christians are called by God to be:

In fellowship with Jesus~ 1^st Corinthians 1:9

Holy~ 2^nd Timothy 1:9

Living in unity with other Christians~ Colossians 3:15, Ephesians 4:4

Encouragers~ Hebrews 3:13

Enduring suffering for doing good~ 1^st Peter 2:20-22 

Followers of truth~ 2^nd Thessalonians 2:13-15

Servants~ Galatians 5:13

Kind~ Ephesians 4:31

Living in peace with people~ 1^st Corinthians 7:15

Pure~ Philippians 2:14-16

Continually declaring the goodness of God~ 1^st Peter 2:9

For decades well-meaning church leaders have taught that we should attempt to do great things for God. We were told that if we discovered our calling, determined our gifting and got busy, we would accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God. Any and all discussion of altering lifestyle choices, sanctification or doctrinal instruction was casually dismissed as needless and archaic legalism.

This well-intended instruction has led to some unintended and peculiar consequences. The body of Christ is inundated with oodles of Christians who are eager to build the Kingdom but are lacking the character, wisdom and knowledge necessary to resist sin, defend their faith, make lasting disciples and remain faithful to Christ. We have missed the mark because we have forgotten that God cares more about who we become and how we behave than what we accomplish.

God wants men and women to be shaped into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). It’s all we need to work on any thing else is superfluous.  Our ambition in this life should be to take on the characteristics of Jesus as we grow in our knowledge of Him. If we seek to meet this goal we might just start building the Kingdom and accomplishing great things for God.  

Whatever Happened to Higher Standards?

Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel~ Philippians 1:27 NASB

I recently reached a milestone I was not expecting to reach for at least another couple of decades. I have officially lived long enough to be astounded by the changes I have seen in my lifetime.

 Just a few short years ago blackberries and apples were fruit. Green was a color not a movement. Crocs were reptiles. Living together prior to marriage was considered way out of the mainstream. People used payphones in emergencies. Restaurants had smoking sections and watches had a practical rather than simply decorative purpose.

 Tweeting was something birds did. Microwave ovens were for rich people. No one had ever heard of social media, reality television, iPods, helicopter parenting, DVDs, online dating or life coaches.  

Changes have not been exclusively reserved for the technological and secular spheres of life.  The Church has seen more than its fair share of radical shifts in the years since I became a Christian.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when no one in the Church had ever heard of coffee bars, the emergent church movement or the purpose-driven ministry model. Worship teams, small groups, overhead projectors for music and padded chairs (as opposed to pews) were considered cutting edge ministry innovations.

I don’t have a problem with tweaking the way we do Church. There is nothing heretical about changing how we reach a relentlessly changing culture. I do have a problem with change for the sake of change. Change for change’s sake is a silly waste of time, spiritual energy and fiscal resources

One change I find particularly troubling is the tendency to shy away from holding anyone to a higher standard of behavior. Back in the day, Pastors and Bible teachers spent a great deal of time highlighting the importance of Christians being different and living their lives at a higher level of morality than the rest of the culture.

Today I want to make a case for living life at a higher standard. I am not advocating high moral values for non-Christians. Non-Christians should not be expected to behave like Christians. Neither am I advocating eccentricity (being different for the sake of being different) or legalism (doing things or adopting behaviors in an effort to earn salvation). I am advocating a return to a pursuit of holiness and Christian distinctiveness (1^st Peter 2:9). Higher standards of behavior benefit believers in at least three ways:   

Higher standards cause non-Christians to self-evaluate- 1^st Peter 3:1

When Christians make the effort of living their lives according to God’s standards, marriages tend to be stronger and families more loving. Folks tend to be more content with what they have and suffer from fewer life-controlling addictions and behaviors. Non-Christians observe the differences and sometimes the disparities trigger self-evaluation of their priorities and lifestyle choices. Assessments of lifestyle choices often lead to repentance and a relationship with Jesus.  

Higher standards act as a safeguard- Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 119:45

God’s decrees aren’t magic bullets but sometimes they look and feel like it. Families are happier and healthier when parents follow biblical principles for family life. Managing money according to biblical principles shelters folks from many financial disasters. God’s rules for sex have protected generations from heartbreak, disease and unintended pregnancy.  Doing life God’s way inevitably produces superior outcomes and happier human beings.   

 Higher standards deepen our relationship with God- Psalm 62:7, 2^nd Corinthians 12:9

Living life by biblical standards is not easy, and it is not something we accomplish without God’s help. The commitment to live at a level we are not really capable of forces us to seek a deeper dependency on God. If you don’t feel you need God’s help to live up the moral standards you’ve set for yourself, your standards are not high enough.

Christians have confused moral standards with legalism and rigidity for far too long. It is not legalistic to be vigilant about what we allow into their minds via books, television, music or other forms of media (Proverbs 4:23). It may be antiquated, but it’s not legalistic to be cautious about the words we use (Ephesians 4:29). It is not puritanical to believe that Christians should not divorce without biblical grounds or that God’s views on sexuality (1^st Thessalonians 4:3-8) are still relevant today.  

A return to higher standards of morality will empower individual Christians to reach a world that urgently needs to witness the power of holiness in action.

When the Human Heart Hardens and the Conscience is Seared

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death~ Proverbs 14:2

News commentators call it the “coarsening of society;” some prefer to call it the “cheapening of life.” The label one chooses is irrelevant. The real issue is that “it” is going on all around us.

Arbitrary acts of violence, the euthanizing of the old and sick, sexually active twelve-year-olds, no-fault divorce, pornography, child abuse, human trafficking, and legalized drugs all point to a culture that has lost its moral footing in every measurable sense. I concluded a few years back that I have pretty much seen it all, and there is nothing left in this world that could possibly shock me.

Then the Planned Parenthood tapes were released.

The first two videos were objectively speaking, appalling. The videos feature Planned Parenthood doctors casually laughing, joking and sipping wine with someone posing as a fetal tissue buyer. The cheery banter is punctuated with some rather disturbing exchanges concerning abortion techniques and some callous haggling over what ought to be the going rate for aborted body parts.  

The third installment makes the first two videos look like suitable preschool programming. The third video shows a doctor, a technician, and a “fetal tissue buyer” standing over the aborted remains of a child referred to only as “ the 11.6” (eleven weeks and six days into pregnancy). The tech points out all the fetus’ intact parts including a liver, heart and hands to the “fetal tissue buyer”. The video ends when the doctor and tech agree that the clinic should be compensated for each intact body part rather than simply receiving a single payment for each aborted fetus.  

 As troubling as they are, the ghoulish practices of Planned Parenthood are simply symptoms of a deeper and much more vexing issue. Human trafficking, child abuse, drug use, pornography, euthanasia, random acts of violence, along with abortion and the profiteering around the abortion industry all stem from one common and widespread cause. Something the Bible refers to as the hardening of the human heart and the searing of the conscience (Ephesians 4:18, 1^st Timothy 4:2).  

The human heart is a spiritually delicate and fragile thing. Most folks are born with a natural bent toward revering the Creator and with a measure of empathy towards others. That is not to say that people are born sinless or morally perfect, because they’re not. However, most young children hurt when other people hurt, love God (unless taught otherwise) and desperately want to make God happy. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote that the law of God and the truth of God’s existence are written on the human heart (Romans 2:14-16).

Hearts become hardened and consciences become seared as we resist and disobey God. The more we violate what we instinctively know to be true, the easier it becomes to descend further into immoral behavior. If the progression continues our priorities become hopelessly confused and eventually evil will seem good and good will appear to be evil (Isaiah 5:20).

This is where we are at as a culture. Folks get more excited over a dentist from Minnesota killing a lion in Zimbabwe than they do over the deaths of millions of preborn humans. No one seems concerned that many adolescents are having their sexual attitudes shaped by the vilest forms of pornography imaginable. But everyone gets their knickers in a knot if there is even the slightest hint of sexism coming from some silly article in a women’s magazine.

Christians cannot stop the slide into moral oblivion in the lives of others. We are not called to police the behavior of non-believers. We are commanded to consider how our actions and attitudes affect all people.

 Christians who view pornography financially support and validate an industry that exploits women and sometimes even children, enslaves millions, and creates a market for prostitution.  When Christians divorce because they “just aren’t happy anymore,” we cheapen a sacred ceremony and make it considerably easier for others to do the same. When we mimic the sexual standards of the unsaved we give license to others and increase the odds of compounding our sin of immorality with the sin of abortion. When we snicker at sinful behavior we minimize and mock the sacrifice Christ made for that sin.

Being a Christian is about more than having our sins forgiven and getting to spend eternity in heaven. Being a Christian is about more than being nice and loving people. Being a Christian is about doing all of life God’s way, all the time. God’s way is rarely easy.  

God calls us to a life of holiness, selflessness, genuine goodness, and social distinctiveness. When all of us who call ourselves Christians choose the narrow path we are called to, then, and only then, will we become the preserving and sanctifying influence our world so obviously needs right now.   

  

Hearing God

You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives~ Deuteronomy 5:24 NASB

Most conversations about hearing the voice of God go in one of two directions. Some confidently claim that they hear from God all the time about every minute detail of their life. God speaks to them audibly on every topic imaginable, from the serious to the mundane.

 God has graciously informed them whom they should be friends with and which schools they should put their kids in.  God tells them where to go to get their car serviced, which brand of toothpaste they ought to buy and what breakfast foods they should consume each morning. 

These folks do not weigh the pros or cons of any decision. They don’t agonize over which job to take or whom they should marry, or even where they should go for dinner. They have all the answers because God tells them exactly what to do all the time.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the people who awkwardly confess that they have never heard God speak. They read their Bibles and pray on a regular basis but they admit that they have never actually heard from God. These folks typically feel like second-class citizens when compared to the first group. In their darker moments they wonder if God loves them or if they are really Christians.

 I believe that God speaks to all of His people at least some of the time. I also believe that there are situations when we don’t hear God’s voice because we have preconceived notions about how we think God should speak. Those biases can interfere with our ability to hear what God is saying. We want (and sometimes even demand) an audible voice when He is intent on using another, more subtle approach. Following are the most common methods God uses when He has something to say.  

The Bible- Psalm 119:105, 2^nd Timothy 3:16

Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible is still God’s preferred means of communication with people. God will never tell anyone to do anything that directly contradicts biblical teaching. If you want to hear God’s voice, begin there.

People- 1^st Samuel 25, Acts 17:16-33, 2^nd Samuel 12, Judges 1:8-9

When God wanted David to understand that his craving for vengeance would lead him down a path of wanton self-destruction, God chose to speak those words through the quiet wisdom of a young woman named Abigail. When God wanted to proclaim the reality of His existence to the people of Athens, He used the words of Paul to communicate that truth. God still uses men and women to communicate truth to one another.  For that reason, it is critical that we prayerfully evaluate the encouraging and not-so-encouraging words of our friends, family members, pastors and even the people we don’t really care for. Sometimes when people speak it’s not them speaking, but God speaking through them. We will do well to listen.

Strong impressions and still small voices- 1^st Kings 19: 11-18, Acts 15:28-29, Acts 16:6

In my experience, God seldom says, “Do this” or “don’t do that.” But he does speak to His people through impressions or a strong sense that we should or should not do something. The only time we should ignore those impressions is when the activity we are considering violates biblical instruction.

Circumstances- Exodus 2:5-8, Acts 8:1-8

Little in life is more frustrating than feeling we are being forced into a course of action by circumstances outside of our control. Thankfully these situations are not always the tragedies they seem to be at the time. Sometimes seemingly adverse circumstances are really the just the hand of God guiding us towards His will for our lives.

  I honestly do not know if God talks to some folks more than others. It’s certainly possible; God deals with people as individuals and He is free to do whatever He pleases. I do know that God is good and that He never leaves us alone. I also know that if we need direction He will give it to us, but that direction may not come in the form we are expecting. It is our spiritual responsibility to keep our hearts and spirits open to God’s will in whatever way He chooses to reveal it.