Challenge 44. Blog 23

Great Questions!

People I coach and people who follow my blog often ask the questions below about Christian calling:

• What is Christian calling? And what is it not?
• Does Every Christian have a calling?
• Can a calling be unrelated to a church job or mission work?
• What are some examples of different kinds of calling?
• How can I hear God's calling for my life?

These are all great questions! 

What is Christian Calling? And What Is It Not?

Here’s my definition:

• Christian calling means to become who God created you to be and do what He created you to do.
• It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. (Ephesians 1:11)

What does this definition mean?

The priority in finding and fulfilling your Christian calling is to become who God created you to be in close relationship with Him. God loves us for who we are, not just because of what we do for Him.

What you do in your calling grows from who you are in relationship with Christ.

Let’s also differentiate between a spiritual gift and a calling. A spiritual gift is an ability that is given and empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s purposes, i.e. teaching, encouraging, prophesying, etc. A calling is God’s fulfillment of who you are in a specific role in relationship with Him to accomplish His purposes. When you fulfill your calling, you use your spiritual gifts and every other part of who you are.

Does Every Christian Have a Calling?

Yes, although not everyone would say it in that way.

There are three parts of God’s calling:

1. God’s universal call to all people for salvation:
   
   "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
   
   Your calling begins when you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and you give control of your life to Him.
2. God’s general call to all Christians to love Him and love other people:
   
   [Jesus] answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
   
   We answer God’s general call as we grow in basic discipleship, learning how to pray, read the Bible, live and serve in Christian community, become like Him, and reach others for Christ.
3. God’s specific call to each Christian to make a difference for Him in a unique way:
   
   It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. (Ephesians 1:11)
   
   This Bible verse shows that calling is first about who you are, and second about what you do! As you become genuinely yourself in relationship with Him and people, you will more fully do your calling
   
   This specific call is what most people have in mind when they think of “Christian calling.”

What Are Some Biblical Examples of Christian Calling?

Many people think that only Christian vocational workers—such as pastors and missionaries—have a Christian calling. This view tends to regard more highly God’s calling of sacred careers over secular ones, clergy over laity, and even paid workers over volunteer servants.

In the Bible, God called individuals to both church-related and non-church-related work:

• Biblical examples of God’s call to church-related work:
  
  [God said to Moses,] Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. (Exodus 28:1)
  
  As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Mark 1:16-17)
  
  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”… When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. (Acts 13:2,5)
• Biblical examples of God’s call to non-church-related work, and to paid as well as unpaid workers:
  
  The LORD said to Moses, “Your time to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” (Deuteronomy 31:14)
  God called Moses and Joshua primarily to be military leaders, not religious leaders. They were indeed exceptionally close to God, and they had tremendous spiritual influence. But they were not vocational religious leaders. This shows that God calls people from all walks of life.
  
  [David’s father, Jesse] sent and brought [David] in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:12-13)
  God called David to be a king. Through that role, he had great spiritual influence. But religion was not his vocation.
  
  Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. (Exodus 31:1-5)
  God called these men to be craftsmen, not religious leaders.

What Are Some Modern Examples of Christian Calling?

God could call in as many ways as there are Christians on the planet. And I believe He indeed does that very thing! No two Christian callings are exactly the same, because each person’s calling comes out of who he or she is, and no two people are exactly alike.

In order to show you that Christian calling can be very different than what most people think, below are some specific, real-life examples:

• Helen Baratta, a woman who struggled with her weight for decades, surrendered to God and lost 116 pounds. She is now an author, speaker, group leader, triathlete, and nationally certified fitness instructor. She is the Director of Development for First Place for Health, where she helps people experience holistic health through a Christian-based program of weight loss.
• Nate Brooks, was an internationally known corporate trainer when a severe stroke took his voice and paralyzed his left side. But God brought him back in remarkable ways. He now speaks again, live and via podcast, inspiring others to rise above their circumstances—and he continues to train others who want to success in sales.
• My husband, Ron, who struggles with diabetes, celiac disease, and heart issues, would be one of the last persons to say he has a calling from God. But he does! He’s always had a strong spiritual gift of helps, and he’s helped others in countless ways through the decades. He says, “I just do my little things whenever I can.” But I personally know many of the people he’s helped, and they would strongly assert that God worked through those “little things” he’s done to change their lives, sometimes for eternity.
• Another man, whose name I won’t mention for obvious reasons, succumbed to crack cocaine in his youth. To pay for his habit, he became a drug dealer, and some of his customers died. But God saved him and transformed him, and now he volunteers in specific and powerful ways through his church and community, helping others who struggle with addiction.

As shown by the above examples, most of the time, our calling roles come out of who we are—our strengths, our failures, and our passions—as well as from our struggles and failures.

How Can I Hear God's Calling for My Life?

The good news is that you don’t have to go to a theological school or seminary to discover your calling role. Your calling role can indeed change several times throughout life—in fact, that’s the norm.

If you’re a person for whom the words calling and purpose tug at the deepest parts of your soul, you’ll passionately beseech God for His guidance and encouragement about your calling.

Sometimes, God calls in dramatic ways:

• When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”… So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:4,10)

However, sometimes, God calls in seemingly ordinary ways:

• [Jesus said,] “Follow me and be my disciple.” (Matthew 9:9)

Your calling roles probably will begin as a strong desire to do something you would love to do, but you have trouble believing God would ever give you the privilege of doing it.

Even if you’re like my husband, in that you don’t think you have a calling, you really do! You probably just don’t express it as a calling. To you it seems like just doing what you can to help whenever you can. That’s your calling! It’s very common for Christians with the spiritual gift of helping or mercy to express calling in this way.

If you do feel passionate about finding and fulfilling your calling, the way to begin to hear God’s guidance and encouragement about your calling is to talk with Him about what you would like to do. Tell Him what you’re thinking and feeling, pay attention to what you’re sensing from Him, and keep going back and forth with Him like that. It can also help to prayerfully talk it over with a mature Christian that you trust.

More Insight

Below are some additional resources for answering your questions about Christian Calling:

• My specialty as a Christian Life Coach is to help people find and fulfill their Christian calling. I coach people anywhere in the world via phone or Zoom. Click here for more info about coaching with me.
• Get my free guide about getting clarity for your calling, and follow my blog. Click here to do that.
• Replace discouraging calling myths with God’s truth. Click here to go to the blog.
• Discover your 7-part Christian Calling Statement. Click here to go to the blog.

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