Turn to the person next to you and say, "That's amazing!"
No, but really, almost all kidding aside, it is. Amazing. Another way of putting it is, when God saves he also calls. It's there in Romans 8:29, and it's in Paul's words to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy (2 Tim 1:9-14):
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel...Moral of the story: the gospel, which is called here "the testimony about our Lord," which is the story of God's grace toward men, brings to life. What is our calling? To speak of this grace, this love, this desire of God to save, to speak of it and to make it known and to display its precious worth.
We who have believed are called into a participation with God's grand design for creation . . . which is, ultimately, to fill creation with all-out worshippers of himself.
Called. Called by God. Not simply saved, as if a strong man had come along just when a gang of ruffians was about to beat you up, chased off the bad-guys, then left you once again to your own devices. No, this God chases off the bad guys, then says, "Follow me."
As Francis Schaeffer famously asked, "How should we then live?"
7 comments:
He chases off the bad guys, says, "follow Me", and then the Holy Spirit of God moves right on into being to live... and zaps us! BAM! in that moment we are born again, our spirit is alive in Jesus Christ! Praise God! we walk in the Grace of God.
peace, brother!
correction...
into our being
Bob, over time, I have come to consider that, once you are called, call is almost irrelevant, it is then response...Just a thought.
But, please turn to the person (or computer) next to you and say amen.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called (Ephesians 4:1, NKJV).
Thanks Nancy and John. Nancy, right you are. To pursue the call to follow without the Holy Spirit, even if we wanted to, would be utterly fruitless.
Jon, interesting thought and I suspect you're really on to something. Nevertheless, Paul often reminds the recipients of his epistles that they are "called." In other words, it's not something that we're not supposed to think about, be aware of, and seek greater understanding and discernment as to application in our lives. Still, something tells me we can turn into Christian navel-gazer - - and that is a tragedy. Your use of Eph. $:1 is right on the money then. But see also Col. 1 (Colossians is in many ways a companion epistle to Ephesians), where Paul also speaks of a worthy walk, but he prays that the Colossians may have spiritual wisdom and understanding in order to walk that walk. In that sense, the call is still relevant I think. The call is the call of Jesus in a particular time and place and situation. It is not "generic." In that sense, it requires "spiritual wisdom and understanding."
I know I've gone far beyond your point, Jon, but these are the thoughts you prompted in me. Thanks for joining the conversation!
Ha! Rereading my note I see that I wrote "Eph $:1 is right on the money"! Clearly, all typos are not created equal!
What is our calling? To speak of this grace, this love, this desire of God to save, to speak of it and to make it known and to display its precious worth.
You mean it's not to speak about my loving wife, adoring kids, and growing retirement fund? All of which God promises you if you just start attending church?
Sorry, just feeling a little snarky this morning... :)
From one snark to another, well snarked!
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