Jesus not only speaks to us, He calls us. He calls everyone who call Him Lord. Jesus calls to us to follow Him just like He called to the fishermen on the beach.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19
I think Jesus calls us to DO specific task and FOR a specific people. And this may look differently to every person who follows Him.
I’m called to the task of helping others seek, find, pursue, and live out their calling. Call it a “dream guide” or “park ranger” for the Kingdom. I know this in the bottom of my very soul – this is what I was created to DO.
I also know WHO I am called to do this for – Christ-followers who are comfortable and affluent and dying inside for lack of purpose. My heart is crushed as I think about the scores of of Christians out there who ache for something more. They want to know their calling, but don’t know how to go about figuring it out.
What if the American Dream isn’t God’s dream for our lives? What would that look like?
I listened to the book, by Radical David Platt, on the drive down to Gainesville. David’s insights helped stoke the fire that was already raging in my heart. I thought THIS is what it could look like if we all followed our calling.
- Most people will not be called to be career missionaries. But some will.
- Most people will not be called to sell their possessions and live and travel in an RV. But some will.
- Some will be called to invest in a specific ministry. Some will be called to invest in a specific location. Some will be called to pour their lives into specific people in specific ways.
- Every person who calls Jesus Lord is called to DO something FOR a specific people.
And it won’t be the only thing you will be asked to do. There is always work to be done. However, it will be the thing that stokes your heart, gives purpose to your soul, and brings the most life to your spirit.
For most people it will mean:
- Living more simply, give more away, and
depend on each other a little more in order to fulfill their calling. - Integrating their calling into their family and lifestyle.
- Pouring into the their own church body in significant ways.
- Going on more meaningful short term missions trips.
- Being more intentional about their relationship with Christ.
So, what is your calling? What breaks your heart? What stirs up the fire of purpose within you? When Jesus calls you to follow Him – what is He calling you to DO and WHO is He calling you to love?
“He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2
