“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT)
When I was fifteen, I responded to a public invitation by my pastor to commit my life to the Lord Jesus. I knelt at an altar in the front of our church sanctuary and as I did, I began to cry, almost uncontrollably. Though I didn’t understand at the time why I was so emotional or even what this all meant, when I rose from the altar I felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I couldn’t have explained it then, but I’d been forgiven and the weight of sin I bore had been lifted.
What I didn’t comprehend fully then (and very likely still don’t) was that God had called me to be His child and, as such, to follow His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe we often complicate this whole issue of “calling,” and thereby miss its simplicity. Calling is simply an invitation to follow Jesus (as complicated as that can sometimes seem). And though in many respects, as Christ-followers, our callings have many similarities, our specific calling can manifest itself in very different ways. That’s where purpose comes in.
Two of the Apostle Paul’s letters to Timothy, who was like a son to him, are recorded in the New Testament. In his second letter, chapter 1, verse 9, Paul writes: “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan (purpose) from before the beginning of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” (NLT)
In this verse we catch a glimpse of the relationship between calling and purpose, both of which are invitations from God. Though this verse is packed with significance and truth on many levels, for purposes of clarity and simplicity, I’m going to focus on the relationship between calling and purpose.
In many respects the relationship between calling and purpose is like two sides of the same coin, similar to belief and faith. One is not complete without the other. Belief is an intellectual acknowledgment that something is true. For example, I can say, “I believe the medicine the doctor has prescribed will help cure my illness.” But unless I exercise faith by actually taking the medication, my belief is of no value. In other words, unless I act on my belief it will have no benefit. That’s true in our relationship with Jesus as well.
Similarly, understanding that I am being called (invited) by God to enter into a relationship with Him through belief in Christ has no real bearing on my life until I exercise faith and say “yes” to God’s invitation to be saved and become His child, which then opens the door of opportunity for me to discover my purpose for being on this planet.
At its core, calling is an invitation to partner with God in the fulfillment of His purpose on earth. And what is that? “… His plan (purpose) from before the beginning of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” (NLT) So how do we do partner with God?
Good question! I’m so glad you asked 😊. We’ll look more closely at this tomorrow.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 