Call and Kingdoms

Sometimes it's hard to remember what the call sounded like.

I didn't heard an audible voice, don't get me wrong. That would have been nice...or frightening! Or both! But nonetheless, there was a call that came. When I was in college, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Did you get that? Do you hear how many "I's" are in there? I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. (Okay, that last one is a "my," but it's the same idea.) There are a lot of problems with that statement. For one, it's not my life. It is a gift from God, and it ultimately belongs to him. For another, I hadn't given much thought or prayer to what God might want me to do with the life he gave me. I was missing an important participant in the conversation.

During my involvement with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, I began to understand the importance of seeking God's call on my life. As I prayed, I found my desires changing, my priorities realigning, and my goals adapting. Because I'm a slow learner, God did not come to me in a blinding light. His call came bit by bit, showing me little by little what a life given over to his plans might look like. Piece by piece, God called and moment by moment, the church (individuals as well as my local congregation) confirmed God's call.

As I studied at Asbury Seminary, the call became clearer. I knew without a doubt I was called to be a pastor, to serve in a local church and to change the world through that venue. Just like most (if not all) seminary grads, I graduated knowing our class was going to go out and change the world in just a few years.

That's the calling I had. That's the calling I still have. That's the calling I still want to live out: to see the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ (yes, now I'm singing it in my head).

Jesus' only plan for changing the world is that the message of hope and redemption would be delivered through the church. He does not have a back-up plan. His only plan is you and me. But do we (the church) look any different than the world around us? Or are we still wrestling with the "I" in our calling? Our kingdoms get all messed up, all confused. We think we can live fully in both "the world" and "the kingdom of God." But every time we (the church) have tried that, the kingdom loses because the baubles of the world are so shiny and enticing. When will we choose his kingdom over our own?