He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 2 Tim 1:9 (HCSB)

Chosen and Called – Part 1

What’s your calling?

When I was growing up, and even now, this question was cultural royalty. At church, and in communities of faith, we asked it almost as much as “how are you today?”

And it's always made me nervous – shivers and all.

My mind swirls with questions: What IS my calling? What is MY destiny? Have I been chosen? Are we all chosen? What if I’m not chosen? What if I’m just normal? I want to change the world! I want to be extraordinary! Will I succeed? Will I fail? Am I the ONE?

For many years, I was paralysed by the pressure of making THE ONE right choice, and consequently, I made many decisions more by what the perceived outcome of my life SHOULD be rather than what I felt in my bones the Divine wanted it to be.

Then there was a sense of sacrifice around it all – not the typical, good kind of sacrifice when you think about things like practice, devotion, study, etc… but a sort of ‘self minimising sacrifice’ – a denial of my true self that was mostly made manifest by my misunderstanding of John's quote “more of Him, less of me” (more on that in a day or two).

We’ve overdone, over-spiritualized and overcomplicated “calling/destiny/future (whatever!)” for a long time.

We need to redefine it, reclaim its meaning, restore its dignity.

Calling and vocation are basically the same thing. Vocation means “A particular occupation or profession; calling. A strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career. A divine call to God’s service or the Christian life. A function or station in life to which one is called by God.”

It’s the trajectory of our existence; the answer to the question, ‘Why am I here? What will I leave behind, and how will my days impact the world?” It is the divine woven into our function. Deliberately created, laced with (unique) purpose.

Your vocation is, well, YOURS. What you do with your life is up to YOU. Sure, things happen to us that we cannot control; we are formed by both our nature and nurture. I get that there are external influences on our lives. But when it comes to purpose, we need to OWN it. We need to take responsibility for our actions and reactions to where we are at in life and what we have in our hands to do. And to own it, you need to find it – wrestle out the question, “What am I here for? What do I have to contribute?”

And it’s not as hidden away as you might think… You don’t need to look any further than within your cells: It’s in your bones, in your blood, in your heart.

Have a look inside. What makes you tick? What makes your body feel fluid and warm? What keeps you up at night? What makes you angry, what gives you hope, what captures your attention, what floods you with light or fills you with dread? These are all clues to help you discover the “why” to your life.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman.

Go to Part 2 – What sets your soul on fire and makes you come alive? »
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