He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace… 2 Tim 1:9 (NIV)
Vocation – Part 4
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3
The remarkable thing about holiness is that it is laced with love and grace. There is so much talk about being “righteous” that we forget that WE ARE the righteousness of God – It's him that makes us righteous. It’s him that makes us Holy… And his motivation for doing so is pure LOVE and relationship. It’s not a show of power or a manipulative move. He has made us righteous because He loves us and wants to share in the fullness of a life made-right.
So when we march up and down on our street corners, blog posts (eek), social media platforms, workplaces, schools etc and demand people live up to a certain standard in order to obtain or stay in God's favour, we really undermine the effect, power and grace of the calling and holiness of God. You're not called because you are holy. We are called (read: we are God's children), therefore we are holy.
Ephesians 2:4-9 says,
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Great!!
Now, what to do with the gift?
Your response to the gift isn’t God’s command to you, it’s your responsibility as a gift recipient. When you look at the two (which are really three) greatest commandments, they point you in the right direction. Love God, love others, love you.
You know that however you walk out this grace and call that’s been gifted to you, it should result in love all-around.
Our response isn’t perfection… it’s not to suddenly become the most well-behaved humans on the planet… Our response to this call and grace is to love. And to love with whatever has been entrusted to us.
This is a holy vocation. Whatever you do, do it with love. When you fail or deviate off track, or when sin nature takes over, respond to the love of God that gently calls you back. No matter what you do, or where you end up, your “holy calling” remains: Be your true self, loved by God, loving others.
The question of our calling should never start with “what should I do? Should I be a preacher, a doctor, a designer, a builder, etc…” Rather it should start with us asking WHO should I become?
Someone who loves, forgives, encourages, endures, protects, comforts, is kind, heartfelt, determined, faithful, overcoming… builds meaning and hope.
From this Holy and sacred place of love, we take faith-filled steps of grace down the path God leads us.
Go to PART 5 “Fire In My Bones”
