Growing up, I saw any number of earnest young men walk down the aisle of First Baptist Church and declare that God had called them to preach (women need not apply, but that’s another story). These announcements were always warmly received and could even stir up some real excitement if the “callee” wasn’t an obvious choice. For example, my friend Keith’s older brother got the calling one Sunday, and that came as a real shocker. Keith and I had suffered much abuse at his hands through the years, especially if he had caught us messing around with his Black Sabbath albums. So you just never knew. These memories came flooding back to me about halfway through my first semester at seminary, when I became aware that fellow students enjoyed describing their "call to the ministry" in reverent tones, while I had no story of my own to tell. Sure, I had an ill-defined desire to serve God somehow, but that rationale had looked pretty sad on my seminary application. After being accepted, though, I figured that many students were similarly nebulous in the "call" department. Faced with mounting evidence to the contrary, I began to feel increasingly out of place. But just when I had all but decided to book a flight back to Tennessee, Rod crossed my path. I knew Rod was one of the most respected students on campus, so when he dropped by my dorm room for a chat, I decided to confess my lack of a real call. By way of a response, Rod laughed at me (guffawed, actually). Then he said the words that kept me in California: "Listen, these other knuckleheads did the same as you. They prayed, talked to friends, and made the best decision they could about God’s will. There isn’t any voice from heaven." Rod’s explanation didn’t really account for Keith’s brother, whose friends would probably have steered him toward petty larceny rather than the clergy, but this common-sense approach lifted my spirits just the same. And it taught me something about the temptation to put a spiritual veneer on a rather ordinary experience. Then again, maybe Rod was letting me down easy. Subsequent events do make me wonder.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Heeding the Call
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3 comments:
Sometimes I wonder why we paint such a bizarre picture of God. What kind of father would dictate the life decisions of his children? If a father predetermined the career path of a child, then punished the child when the veered off path and rewarded or manipulated them to be what HE wants them to be - wouldn't we say he is a horrible parent?
Isn't the best type of parent one who blesses the chosen path of their children?
I think "listening to God's call" is much more about looking in our selves and using sound logic and reason to make quality decisions.
Steve,
Vocation - the Call- True Self. Call it what you will, it is a tricky business. In the end, I think that any Vocation is a compelling desire to respond to God's invitation to grow in a loving union with Him. This has about as many unique responses as there are Christians. Why does anyone choose a certain job, or marry this person over that person? I think that each Christian has to answer that for themselves. I feel that have to learn who we are, in order to lean what we are called to.
I tend to think that Vocation is a tripartite experience. God Who does the calling, the Church, who guided by the Holy Spirit helps the person discern the genuineness of the call, and of course the Christian who is called.
This is indeed a tricky business. Looking at my present life, I have a strong sense that I'm right where I'm supposed to be, and the chain of events that got me here sometimes makes me feel "led." But I hesitate to use that language, much less attribute my circumstances to "God's call" or "God's will." Like Mike L., I see it as a process of using sound reasoning, while allowing for some grace and mystery.
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