After weeks of silence, mostly a result of graduations, cross country treks, new jobs, farewell parties, welcome home parties, and other little things, we are starting a series of posts on a topic that is close to both of our hearts: The Calling of God. It will be a series of 5 reflections on the calling of God in each of our lives.
Reflection # 1 - God has the right to tell you what to do
Sometimes in our
culture of freedom and opportunity, we get the idea that if I’m not a pastor or
missionary, then God has given me freedom to live my life without his interference.
So the thing that I do to earn money, becomes my career. The people with whom I share life become my family. The church where I choose to
worship becomes my church. Yes, I
will give some of my money to my church because I think its important and it gives me a nice tax break.
God’s only
impact upon my life is contained within the 1 hour a week that church occurs.
If I choose to go to Sabbath School then I should be commended for my
commitment. Anything that occurs during the week, especially on Sunday, which
is my day, will be subject my schedule but only after it is run by
that highest of authorities: my feelings.
If someone at the church happens to do something that offends me or, heaven
forbid, I find out that someone in the leadership has been compromised, I have
the prerogative to discontinue my support of the church. After all it is mine.
Now that I am
finished jumping on the toes of every reader of this post, please understand
that I am ranting against something that I see in my own life.
I think that the
atmosphere of grace and freedom that Christianity is based upon has, at times,
made us forget what so much of the Bible screams out. God is God. He is the
Creator of the Heavens and Earth, the Bringer of floods and protector of the
innocent. He casts down kings and builds up shepherds. He has the right to tell
you what to do! That is not to say that God is a tyrant. He is nothing of the
sort. In fact he often gives us opportunities to make choices. That is part of
what makes Him so wonderful. David reflects on this in Psalm 8:3-5
“When I consider
the works of your fingers,
the moon and the
stars,
which you have
set in place,
what is man that
you are mindful of him,
the son of man
that you care for him?
You made him a
little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him
with glory and honor.”
David’s point is
that when we look at the work of God’s hands, we can be nothing but humble.
When we know who God really is, when we understand that God spoke and the
universe came to be, our petty power struggles suddenly seem utterly childish.
One of my biggest pet peeves are pedestrians at cross walks who walk out into traffic without ever looking around to see what is coming toward them or acknowledging the cars who are stopped to let them by. Its not that I don’t like giving them the right of way, I am perfectly happy doing this. What bugs me is the complete lack of respect for the drivers. Think about it, the only reason why those people are alive, is because the drivers bearing down on them respect the law and value the lives of the pedestrians. In America, at least, this is so ubiquitous among drivers that we pedestrians take it for granted and assume that it is our innate right as a pedestrian to walk in front of oncoming traffic and that said traffic will stop if we are in a crosswalk. No! There is nothing innate about it. There are no force fields protecting you as a pedestrian. You are not bigger and tougher than the Ford F-350 that is slowing to your left or the Semi that is stopped on your right just because you are between two white lines. Those vehicles could and would flatten you if their drivers chose to do so.
The same is true
of God. So often we live our lives likes those pedestrians. So taking for
granted the fact that God gives us the privilege of making choices that we make
those choices without ever acknowledging that God is allowing us this
privilege. This is what the Bible means in Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not
lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make straight your paths.
The first step in knowing God’s calling on
your life is to know that God has the right to tell you what to do. He has the
right to turn your life upside down. He has that right because he made you and
saved you and gives you life and love. Every. Single. Day.
Next time we will discuss why God calls us. Is
it just because he likes telling us what to do? Or does he have a greater
purpose?
