What does it look like to hear God's call and respond to it? God calls each of us, and all of us to different things and places. Take a look at the video below and see a couple of folks who have responded to God's call.
I was excited when Brian and Tom said they'd do this video for me. Both have heard a call from God to preach and be pastors, but their stories are very different. Responding to God is what becomes so very important.
In this series of posts we've been talking about how we can have conversations with others about our faith. We can do this over a series of conversations that have been following in this series, and they can even be had over a cup of coffee, or even over a piece of pumpkin pie. What's important is that we are able to talk to others about why we come to church, why we have faith, and why we put our faith, hope, and love in the person of Jesus Christ.
That's what we do on the individual level. When we have these conversations on the level of the church, we talk about it a little differently. We start to describe this in terms of how we fulfill our mission as a church.
How we go about fulfilling that mission, in our community is our vision. The vision is the practical, on the ground, way that we do this work. The next piece of it is in responding when God calls us.
The most iconic call story in the Gospels comes in Matthew 4. These are the two stories when Jesus first calls Simon and Andrew, and James and John.
Verses 18-22 only cover five verses, but they are responsible for shaping how we understand God's call on us as Christians. As I read these stories, I see these two verses as the most important.
I have to admit, when I read those verses, I'm intimidated. The clear statement on Jesus' part of what they are going to do, and the immediacy of the brothers response to Jesus' call is incredible. I get worried that Jesus is going to call me like that, and I don't know how I would respond.
But here's the good news. I have to remind myself that God knows how scary that is. That's why we see Jesus call a pair of men in each story. He didn't call them by themselves, but in a pair. Life is easier when we don't do it alone. Even for a committed introvert like myself, I know the benefit of having someone go with me.
Jesus provides built in support and help. Later, when he starts calling his disciples one at a time, he's not calling them to something that is brand new and incredibly intimidating, but he is calling them to join a group that has already been formed. In his way, Jesus is meeting our needs so that we can do a new thing.
This is what Jesus does. Remember, that back in the start of this series we talked about how God doesn't just send us to places, but he leads us there, and when he leads us there he is prepared to help us do what he has called us to do. The same is true, even to this day, when he calls us to new places.
Take some time after you read this post, and go to God in prayer, and go to God in conversation with others about how you are each being called to a new place. See what opportunities God is putting in front of you, and begin to understand how you can best respond. Most importantly, do this in Jesus' name.
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