If you have been in church culture for a while, you have heard the term “calling” many times. You may have wondered what that term means. If you go to Webster’s Dictionary, you will find there are about fifty-nine definitions of the word! Fifty-nine! They are as varied as “receiving a call on the phone” to “calling a hand in a game of poker.” That’s just two of the fifty-nine. But what is the Biblical definition of “calling”? A “calling” is a summon from God.
Those of you who were drafted into the military know what it’s like to get a letter from Uncle Sam saying you’ve been drafted. That is a summons for you to serve in the military. Well, Jesus gives summons, too. It’s a summons to follow Him. It’s a summons to trust him. As a matter of fact, in all callings, there is a calling to serve, a calling of unselfishness, a calling to sacrifice. That’s why military service is often referred to as a calling. The same kind of things are involved when you receive a calling from God – sacrifice, selflessness, and service.
But that’s not all. There is also a calling to leave the familiar and venture into the unknown. And that causes us to feel a bit inadequate at times about the calling. But this is good because it forces us to depend on God. In the New Testament, when Jesus calls, it is most of all a call to follow him. Then, as we follow him, he calls us to specific places of service.
What has God called you to?