Your calling has found you

I think we sense some form of 'longing' for success, but more than that we crave something that will be lasting and have a great significance in this world. We all want to understand our genuine calling in this world so we can understand what will give great significance and be of lasting meaning on this earth - but more than that - we want to know what we do that will be of significance into eternity. To be called means we have more than a general knowledge of what we are to be doing - it means we sense we have a deeper purpose in this world. We would all like the scriptures to declare plainly what our 'calling' is in this lifetime. Calling is about who you are, not so much what we do. God wants us to be in relationship with him, then he will ask us to do something - it isn't the other way around. I think we get this confused - we think we have to do something, but we forget that all calling begins with living a holy life.

"I am being held in prison because of working for the Lord. I ask you from my heart to live and work the way the Lord expected you to live and work." (Ephesians 4:1)

What and who we are 'becoming' - set apart believers who enter into the rest of Christ and the passion of his holiness - is to be our primary focus on this earth. We are to become like Jesus - then the things we begin to do will have significance, no matter how 'insignificant' they may seem. We aren't 'called' to a career - we are called into relationship. We get this backwards most of the time, believing rather that we need to focus on what our career should be in this world. While it is important to understand our career choice, we have lots more than a career in this world. Who we are is much more important than what it is we do for a career. Guess what, even being a mom or dad, friend or associate - these are callings, but they aren't who we are! We are the chosen of God - children of the Most High King of the Universe. 

When we focus on our relationship with Jesus, we begin to realize how it is we are 'called' into these various other relationships and 'things' we are doing on this earth. I think this is what Jesus had in mind when he reminded us to 'put first the Kingdom of God'. When we come to Christ, an exchange of heart occurs. The hardness of our sinful heart begins to be replaced with the humble and pliable heart of Christ. We have an exchange of our very core make-up. We might want to think that didn't change who we are on this earth, but it changes everything! We think we will do important things because of our capacity, talents, or skills, but trust me on this one - - - God uses these, but they aren't as essential to the 'important things' we will do as it is to remember Christ is the one who is at the center of our lives.

Whatever is at the center will have the greatest impact on the whole. You cannot 'do' more in your talent or ability than you can by keeping the right 'who' at the center of your life. That is why I emphasize keeping Christ central in our lives so frequently. We need that time in relationship with him, so we will serve with integrity, live generously, and share the greatness of his love with others. The 'who' will make all the difference in whatever it is we 'do' in this world. Don't focus on the 'do' - focus on the 'who' and you will be empowered like never before. Just sayin!

Who, not what

"Aah...this is the GOOD life!" We are perhaps kicking back on the beach, enjoying the rays, listening to the palm fronds rattling in the wind, and then we utter these words of absolute contentment! The next thing you know, a gust of wind blows away your umbrella, a happy-go-lucky child throws sand on you, and the sun drifts behind the clouds! What happened to your "contentment" in that moment? Ummm....honestly....it was no longer the "good life"! The days of good old conversation and peaceful repose with an aging parent turn into helping them make daily decisions, take their showers, and ensuring their safety at every turn. Yep, the 'good life' is kind of missed in those moments, isn't it? There are lots of things that change our 'good life' concept - from sudden gusts of wind to changing needs of those around us. When the 'good life' morphs, are we ready?

Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God. (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13)

Our impression of what a "good life" really is can oftentimes be the issue, not the 'events' of life itself. We get our focus a little misdirected at times - giving us a warped perception of reality. You see, the wind was always there, the clouds were passing over as we uttered those words of contentment, and the child had been working on that sand castle for hours! The parent was aging all along, getting weaker each day, and hidden disease was always at work. We just failed to see what was right before our eyes! Perception often determines reality in our minds! A lifestyle of sin is easily observed when it is pitted against a lifestyle of reverence for God. The "good life" is really based on something entirely different than we often imagine. In fact, rarely do I hear anyone describe the good life as serving God first, being less focused on self, and being an obedient steward of the grace God has given in their life! Yet, it is not what we "get by with" in life that makes life great - it is in the fact that we get "nearer" to God that makes it truly great! In fact, a life without God is "colorless as a shadow" and "flat"!

It takes the sun to cast a shadow! The more "face-on" you are to the sun, the longer your shadow. Let me make this clear - the more face-on you are to the Son of God (Jesus), the longer the shadow his grace will cast in your life! You begin to reflect his greatness in your life! It takes the light to realize the "color" in our world. In the darkness, color is really meaningless. You can be standing smack-dab in the middle of a room filled with vividly painted walls, richly adorned furnishings in dynamic colors of the rainbow, but without the light in the room, those colors mean nothing! It takes the "Light of Life" (Christ) to fill our days with color. We may "think" we get by with stuff (not always good stuff either), perhaps hundred of times, but nothing escapes God's view. Even though we don't "get caught" in our sin, he knows it is still there. There is nothing we can hide from him. Want color and light in your life - get honest with God and then enjoy the Son-shine! Don't let the stuff that is right there in front of your eyes to escape your view, or your appreciation! The good life is more about 'who' is in our lives, not 'what' is in it! Just sayin!