Scripture passage that caught my attention today: 1 Corinthians 1:26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
Observation: Wise advice.
Application: Some people like to say that God has a plan. I have mixed feelings about that assumption because it seems to presume that everything is already divinely mapped out. Tsunami in Japan? Part of the plan. Current Libyan crisis? Ditto. Granted, it does seem that an all-knowing God could plan in such a way, but would an all-loving God intentionally do such things? It seems to me that there must be a better explanation out there somewhere.
The word “call” makes more sense to me in this regard. A ‘call’ is like a summons from beyond oneself that speaks deeply within oneself. A call PROMPTS a response and, ironically, is often issued IN response to a genuine need.
I believe that God is in the call business. Whether the events at hand are global or intimately local in nature, it seems that our Lord offers ‘calls’ to a wide variety of people. Some of these calls or summons are quick, intense, and short-term in nature. One might sense a call to donate money or time or materials or a listening ear or all of the above for a given situation. Other times calls are issued for a longer-term cause or even to a particular vocation.
What’s especially interesting (and humbling!) about calls is that they are not always extended to the most naturally gifted or the most logically suited for a particular task or mission. But wherever there is a mission, one can be sure that a call to someone is not far away. And sometimes, just like when we’re busy trying to figure out who’s cell phone is going off, we might find ourselves surprised to discover that the call is actually for us. Hence the Paul’s Scriptural admonition to “consider your own call…”
Prayer: Lord, help us all to consider the various calls you extend and how we might most faithfully respond. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(readings today included: Deuteronomy 30-31, Psalm 40, and 1 Corinthians 1)
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Very nicely put; I love this passage, asking us to look at ourselves with open eyes. And I like your take on tragedy or crisis; it never seemed to me, either, that God's 'will' involved such pain/suffering, but that is often the popular perception.
ReplyDeleteWe are called to serve people in need; that's more than enough mission for any of us to fulfill! Thanks Kent!