A Holy Calling
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV).
There are many examples in the Bible of God calling His people. He called out to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, and to Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, and Elijah in 1 Kings 19. These are all great stories of God seeking out His people in spite of their fear or inability to recognize His voice. God later walked the earth in the form of Jesus and continued to call people to Him. Today, God is still calling us and waiting for us.
I think it is easier to understand that we are being called rather than what we are being called to do. First, please allow me a little perspective. A good friend once told me God’s grace is not about saving you from something but rather for something. In 2 Timothy 1:9 we read: “who saved us and called us to a holy calling.” Your calling is your calling alone and it is from God and therefore it is pure and holy. His calling forbids all trust in our own doings and turns us to Christ for salvation.
If we live in unrepented sin, we become separated from God and nothing on earth can fill that void. When we live in the Spirit, then we recognize that we will sin, due to our human condition, but we desire to not sin, due to our heavenly calling. St. Paul states this beautifully in Romans 7:20. “ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
Is this the longing of your heart? Is this the substance of your life toward God and His divine will? In Philippians 3:13-14 we learn the importance of forgetting the past and focusing on our calling from God. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Your calling should prune and purify your heart and focus your desires on heavenly treasure. Your calling should elevate your hopes, your tastes, your desires. Your calling should empty you of selfish earthly desires and fill you will a desire to know Him, be more like Him, and bring others to know Him.
Prayer: Dear God please help us to find time to be alone with you to hear and understanding your calling. Please give us the courage to take up our cross and to bring others to know you as we do. We want to grow closer to you and ask that you help us leave behind all desires that lead to death and give us a heart that longs to see your face. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Meet the Author
Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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