|
Living Constrained by Calling
|
In his book The Call, Os Guinness wrote that if personal calling is true, this implies a caller. While this truth seems logical there are those who contend otherwise. For example, present-day existential philosophers assert that humans can self-define their purpose (self-call). It is evident, however, that no one self-creates. Therefore, if one does not self-create, how can one presume the right to self-call? This is a conundrum for humanists who, a priori, are prone to existentialism. But for Christians, Guinness’s view seems more consistent with reality.
As Guinness asserted, personal calling presumes a caller separated from humans by a being who is not created but rather self-existent. From a Christian worldview, the caller is the self-existent triune God of the Bible who is the Creator of all. Furthermore, the God of the Bible is sovereign, intentional, strategic, eternal, and self-revealing. He is the Creator of all—he creates everything and everyone for his own purpose.
According to Scripture, humans exist for the purpose of serving as God’s ruling agents in the physical reality (Genesis 1:26−28). Each human is individually created to serve a specific purpose. This is abundantly clear in Scripture. For example, consider the following text, written by the apostle John, that speaks of the Creator:
|
You have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11 CSB)
|
Solomon wrote that God has a purpose in creating every human even those who refuse to submit to him. He said:
|
The LORD has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. (Proverbs 16:4 NKJV)
|
And the apostle Paul began his epistle to the saints in Ephesus with the following statement about the sovereign, intentional, and strategic nature of God:
|
We were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will. (Ephesians 1:11 CSB)
|
Then in the second chapter, Paul wrote that those whom God has granted deliverance from eternal death are redeemed to serve God’s purpose in his metanarrative.
|
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 CSB)
|
Furthermore, Jesus lived with a clear sense of divinely defined purpose. His singular intent was to fulfill the will of the heavenly Father. He said:
|
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6:38 NKJV)
|
Even in Jesus’ weakest moment—facing physical death—he was singularly committed to live according to the will of the Father. He spoke these words in prayer:
|
Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. (Luke 22:42 CSB)
|
In the apostle Peter’s opening message to the first ekklesia (church) on the day of Pentecost, he spoke of the intent and purpose of God in the events of Jesus’ life, saying:
|
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know─Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. (Acts 2:22–24 NKJV)
|
And the intent and purpose of God was seen in the life of the apostle Paul who, as Saul of Tarsus, persecuted Jesus and his followers. Nevertheless, Saul experienced an irresistible encounter with Jesus who intercepted and immobilized him with blindness. Saul could only speak and cry out, “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). Jesus identified himself, and Paul received the revelation that Jesus is Lord and Christ. Saul was not seeking Jesus, but Jesus sought him. Saul did not choose to follow Jesus; Jesus chose Saul. Jesus explained to Ananias, the human agent Jesus sent to Saul to reveal his divinely defined purpose, that Saul was given a specific assignment. Jesus told Ananias to
|
go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. (Acts 9:15–16 CSB)
|
Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles (the ethnic groups). The clarity of Paul’s calling increased, and his character grew. By the end of his third apostolic journey, his calling was so compelling that nothing would dissuade him, no matter the personal risk. So, on his way to Jerusalem, he met with the elders of the Ephesian ekklesia (church) and shared the following:
|
And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace. (Acts 20:22–24 CSB)
|
Chains and afflictions were his lot. Within a year or so, Paul was in a Roman prison. From there, he wrote his prison epistles—Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. He wrote:
|
For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21 CSB)
|
This is a stunning statement of complete surrender to God’s call on his life. Whether he lived or died did not matter. To live was Christ and to die was Christ. To gain this level of selfless maturity required a complete transformation of the apostle’s character. Paul became a model of one who was constrained by his divinely ordained calling.
If Paul lived constrained by God’s will, should this not also be prescriptive for every Christian? When so constrained, there can be no place for man’s will to trump God’s will. There is no place for self-definition. No place for humanism. A life well lived is one completely surrendered to the will and ways of God.
The testimony of Scripture is unequivocal. Jesus and his apostles agreed. There is no other proper way to live except to be constrained to find and fulfill one’s divinely ordained calling. This should be the objective of everyone who calls on the name of Jesus. May we have the conviction and grace to so live.
|
Teaching: Paul Arrives in Jerusalem
|
June 1–3, 2023: Strategic Life Alignment Seminar
|
Biblical Guidance for Finding Your Life Purpose
|
January – June 2023: Building Generationally
|
Biblical Guidance for Building Organizations
|
The Business Roundtable is a monthly gathering of organizational leaders who seek to lead and manage based on a Christian worldview.
|
|
|
|
|
|
