From the Reformed theological perspective, God’s call can be present in all walks of life. An electrical engineer, a secretary, a lawn keeper, a soldier, and a pastor can all be responding to God’s call in their lives. Sometimes it may be to a specific vocation but at all times it is to how we respond to the opportunities for faithfulness in whatever situation we find ourselves. Paul demonstrated an ability to respond to God’s call on the road, during a ship wreck, and while he was in prison. (Colossians 4:3-4)
The question is not whether you are called by God but whether you are open to that call. And I think we can affirm that the nature of that call can change over time. The challenge is how to stay in continual contact with the source of the call. After all, if you genuinely experienced God calling you to paint a barn or to eat rubarb straight from the ground, you would do it because you had been provided a direction that was in harmony with the eternal purpose of the universe.
It is an audacious claim to even believe that that is possible but it is the assertion of the Christian faith that it is possible. Once you accept that possibility, however, then the next question is how you open yourself to that call from eternity and how you stay in contact with the source of that call as your life progresses.
If we use Abram as our paradigm, it is clear that the call requires trust before you have all the information. Abram had a promise but did not have a clear picture of where he was going or what would happen along the way. I would even suggest that if you did think that you knew clearly what your call was all about, you might want to consider that you are mistaken.
In future blogs I want to explore what we have been provided in order to enable us to keep in touch with the source of our call.
