Called

Over the past year, as I mentioned the other day, I've been in a kind of "wilderness" place ... or so it has seemed to me.  I've felt as if I have not been "spiritual" enough, perhaps, both in "devotional" terms and in practical "doing" terms.

Did I just use four Christianese-jargon-type terms in two sentences?  And put them in quotation marks, to top it off?  Egad.  Do forgive me, please!  :-)

So anyway, Father has responded.  Well, of course He has.  He responds.  Not as we expect, much of the time, but still.  This time He used two blog posts by different people.

The first post reminded me that living like a Christian and being a Christian are two very different things.  I know that, but somehow I seem to forget and get caught up in the "doing" - or at least in wanting to "do" when life's circumstances withdraw "doing" opportunities.  So God has gently pointed out to me that when He removes "doing" opportunities, it could be He is really gifting me with space to "BE."  Deeper relationship with Jesus arising out of times of solitude in which to hear from His Spirit. 

Kurt Willems at Red Letter Christians puts it this way:

"I’m done with living like a Christian.  I’m done serving the poor. I’m done going the extra mile....  I’m done visiting the sick.... I’m done loving my neighbor....

.... doing all these things won’t change the world.  That’s because the world can’t be changed unless God changes me....

I want to BE, and in the process, become a different kind of follower of Jesus....

So, yes, I’m done with living like a Christian.  I’m trading that in for living in a deeper relationship with Christ.  I want to know Jesus.  I want to hear Jesus.  I want to be empowered by Jesus.  Not simply in theory as I do the good things that he calls us to do, but as the natural outflow of intimacy with God.  The former way “gets the job done.”  The latter way changes the world."

The second post reminded me that I am not "called" to a particular ministry, or place, or job, or any of those other "callings" we often struggle so hard so discover.  My "calling" is not something for me, individually, that I must seek out.  As a believer, my calling is the calling of all believers.  It is not something we have to discover, but something that IS - and that fits right in with the BE.  Same verb!  And the longing of the One whose name is I AM. 

Sarah, at Emerging Mummy, says this:

"But we have been set apart already, by the very nature of our allegiance for the Kingdom.... we already know our calling.
And it's gorgeous and wide and meaningful and brave - right in the context and life that God has placed us.....
We are called to follow and love Jesus.
We are called to love mercy, to do justly and to walk humbly with our God.
We are called to the big nouns - like family and friendship and Church - and we are called to the big verbs - like forgiving, loving, serving, seeking, blessing. And we are often call to live out those enormous nouns and verbs in the smallest of places, making space for the Holy.
We are called to be the Image Bearers of God.
We are called to the poor and the fatherless, the widow and the hurting.
We are called to each other."
Yes.  We are called TO BE with He who is I AM.  That totally makes sense, doesn't it?

So okay.  No fear!