We live in strange days. Uncertain times might be a good way of putting it. Uncertain in the sense that we are uncertain what it will take to regain a certain sense of normality, or if we will ever certainly return to what was once called normal. Uncertain in my mind, whether a return to what was normal is something we should even desire. These times are not, however, uncertain in the mind of God. For Christ remains seated on the throne. Instead of uncertain, He is unperturbed by the fear and threat of pestilence. He abides unsurprised, and His sovereign lordship remains undisturbed. And so, considering this uncertain atmosphere, I confess I am most certain in this; the hand of God is at work, and He will have His way to glorify His name. Blessed be the name of YHWH!
So, brethren, since there has been such a milieu and even, I daresay, spirit or delusion, of anxiety in these days, I exhort you not to be shaken. Instead, carefully and prayerfully seek to redeem this time for the Lord’s kingdom. Seek to labor for His glory in this season, and to strengthen your hand to continue laboring in the next. Naturally, as you hear my appeal, you might be provoked to consider where to even begin in working for the Kingdom of God, and this brings me to the real reason for my writing.
I have had it on my heart to write concerning this subject for quite some time. It is a subject of pastoral concern that is intimately and imminently pertinent to me and my wife. That is the subject of the Christian discerning his calling in Christ. Being relatively young, and yet having a small sphere of influence, I will not presume to speak of all the interactions I have had, few as they may be, of brothers and sisters asking Jordan or I how we know God has called us to Haiti. However, I understand this is a subject which many Christians attempt to wrestle with on a frequent basis and may be doing so even more now! So, with great care, and not lacking in reverence to the Word of God I will wade into the waters in attempt to provide an accurate biblical answer to the question, “How do I know God’s calling in my life?”
It is not my aim to authoritatively declare your personal calling in this life under Christ. Neither will I provide a list of potential personality traits or interests and inclinations that may “indicate a supernatural equipping from God” or anything else as silly as that—Seriously, between our love languages and all that goes on in our leadership workshops, it’s like American evangelicals think Myers and Briggs were inspired by the Holy Spirit to develop that little quiz of theirs. Listen, if your Bible in Ephesians 4:11 says, “He gave some to be sharp motivational speakers, and some as marketing experts, and some as psychologists ,and some as internet personalities and influencers…” then you are reading less of a Bible and more of a bedtime storybook, no matter how many best-seller lists you find it on. I would encourage you to return it with a strongly written letter to the publishers, but unfortunately they themselves are sound asleep atop that fat pile of your hard earned mon—I mean—they’re weary from hard labor to “make the kingdom more accessible” or something. And unfortunately, they only wake up to scold those ugly hateful folks that give good Christians like them a bad name—undesirables like Jesus and his troop. No, instead of the common and cheap way of doing things, the aim of this discourse is to equip you with biblical principles and Christian disciplines to begin prayerfully discerning the office or labor He has set you apart to, whether in the context of your local assembly, or on the mission among the unreached peoples of the world.
In this series of blogs I will attempt to explain; first, what God has generally commanded that all men do in His created order; then, the appointed labor that every Christian must take up; next, I will attempt to survey the principles we must glean from the Word of God to make specific application to our lives; then finally, I hope to list the practices you might take up to begin to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit in your own life. Throughout these ‘categories of discernment’, when acceptable I will share an example from the life of Jordan and I, and how God brought us through all these, to the place we are, having joined the mission field in Haiti. The proper place for all that juicy vulnerable personal stuff probably won’t be until some time in the third entry, though, so don’t start popping your popcorn yet. For now, we have some serious questions to answer, and I hope they provoke deeper consideration in you.
What is God’s command to ALL men?
Our first stop, on the way to discerning God’s calling personally, is to ‘poke the bear’ by asking that menacing question which has terrorized countless philosophers for centuries. The question being, “what is the meaning to life (at least for us men)?” or else, “Why did God create man?” Not to worry, though, intimidating as she may seem, this bear is only one of those lazy honey eating types; all bark and no bite, or something along those lines. Plus, we have friends who have been here before. The Westminster Divines helped teach us how to deal with this particular pest, and I find no better answer for the sake of brevity and accuracy, than to turn to the Catechism.
Westminster Catechism:
Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man?
Answer 1: The chief and highest end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
That’s a pretty fine summary, but they were only following the lead of the Apostle Paul. Here is how he put it:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the LORD, or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
– Romans 11:33-36
The scripture teaches that God created out of the overflow of the love from within the Godhead. At this point some of us must be a little bit careful when approaching this conclusion. While attempting to understand how the “crown-jewel”, “ever-beloved” mankind fits into God’s creating for Himself, the proper answer may sting some of your more delicate sensibilities. The truth is, God did not create you because He needs you. The idea that you, creature, were so important to God that He simply could not bear His eternal, perfect, self-sufficient existence without the temporal rebellious dust reading this (let alone that rebellious dust writing this) is an arrogant lie, personally gifted to us by our father Adam, with a special bow that looks strikingly reminiscent of a serpent. We are, simply by virtue of breathing, lavished in grace by God, but we are not the chief end for His creating. There is no greater truth than this (certainly none more necessary to we selfish Western Christians).
Scripture teaches us that God created man in His image, so that man may know Him, enjoy Him, and glorify Him forever, and this command to know and worship is a gift from God to men. Furthermore, within what is called the economy of the Trinity; God the Father decreed from eternity past, to create and produce a bride for God the Son to win, and God the Holy Spirit to keep, so that at the last day, out of the abundance of the love within the Godhead, The Father may give the Son His bride; tried, tested, and purified by His own blood, to love Him and worship Him forever. That bride is the covenant people of God, whom we call the Church.
So, if men were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and that is God’s will and calling for all, how can we do that? In short, and unfortunately, mankind is utterly incapable of pleasing God in his current fallen state, and thus can only miserably fail in this first and primary calling. Consider Paul’s words from his epistle to the Romans:
“as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one…There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”
– Romans 3:10-12,18“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
– Romans 8:6-8
The natural man, with the mind set on the flesh, is he who is still in his father Adam, justly condemned under the terrible wrath of God for his federal head’s rebellion, and only secondarily for his own willful sin. But there is hope.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.”
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirt of life has set you free in Christ Jesus form the law of sin and death.”
– Romans 8:9 & Romans 8:1-2
What is God’s calling in your life? In the most general wide-sweeping sense it is this command that every man and woman know Him, and glorify Him, and enjoy Him forever. However, you cannot do this if you are not a Christian, if you are not yet washed by the blood of Jesus; the atoning blood of the only perfect lamb, the one acceptable propitiatory sacrifice, God the Son Himself.
You will never please God if you have not been born again, given a new life in Christ Jesus. Without the mind set on the Spirit, despising the flesh and its corruption by sin, you will never please God. At this time in your life, if you cannot “…draw near [to the Holy place of God the Father] with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”, then know at this time there is only one calling of God in your life that you need to concern yourself with. This calling is the command to repent of your sins, and to humbly beg the King Jesus to wash you clean, have mercy on you, save you, and to give you a new heart as only He can. If you do not do this, you will never be able to please God, you will only ever be a hindrance to the work of His Kingdom, and you will remain in a fearful and terrible state of wrath. The rest of this discourse is not for you, for we have come to the first point of divergence. Before you can hope to know the special work God may have for you, if any, you must do as He commands. Fear God. Repent. Do not wait another day now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of Salvation.
In the next entry into this series of blogs we will examine the high Christian calling, but until then, I encourage you to meditate on these words:
“The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations.”
– Numbers 14:18“…do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God…”
– Romans 2:4-5