Whose Call is it, Anyway?

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10b-11)

I've become convinced lately that we fret too much over our "calling". We often hang more weight on an "experience" than it was ever intended to carry - often when things are going "wrong".

We replay it, relive it, journal about it, talk about it, review it, take it apart, examine it, and try to put the pieces together. Often, we end up with "paralysis by analysis". We are so good at making things harder than they have to be.

As I was preparing to teach Children's Church this Sunday (how I love God's sense of humor), I was struck by a theme in all of the Gospel accounts of the call of Peter and John. It's a simple point, but one that struck a chord with me: Scripture doesn't portray the call as Peter and John's. The call is Christ's. He simply states the work at hand, and gives them the choice whether to follow Him.

His call, not theirs. His call, not mine. Henry Blackaby put it this way: God is always at work around us, and He invites us to join Him in His work. Like the disciples, my primary call is to follow Him into the work He is already planning to do. Those men He wanted Peter and John to go fishing for? They would be caught regardless - even if Peter and John said no. Jesus would have found other willing vessels, but His work would have gone forward. His call, not theirs. His call, not mine.

In 2020 Vision and Run with the Vision, Bill & Amy Stearns outline a view of call that de-emphasizes specificity and prioritizes opportunity. Take Phillip as an example. In Scripture he is portrayed as a deacon, an evangelist, an itinerant missionary, and a father to godly prophetesses. What was his "call"?

I'm not discounting the importance of preparation and awareness of spiritual gifts, or even the value of a call to a specific role, area, or corner of the world. If you have that much specificity, great. But don't ever forget that your primary call is to follow Him. And your call to wherever you are now is really His call, not yours. Which means He gets to decide how you - and I - fit into the big picture. And because we are His "special possession" - literally "moveable treasure" - that may very well require some relocation (literally or figuratively) on our part.

Frankly, it helps me to know that it's His call, not mine. It takes the ultimate responsibility off my shoulders and puts it onto His. And most importantly, He gets the glory, not me.