Many Christians are confused as to what their calling in the Lord is. The truth is, we're all called to Christ, to living a life in pursuit of Him and in obedience to Him.
That's our calling as God's people.
Many Christians, however, continue to remain confused as to their "personal" callings in the Lord. What I mean to say is, they want to know if they're called to be a pastor or be given a role in the five-fold ministry specified in Ephesians 4:11 ("...some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers...").
Aside from the five-fold ministry, some Christians continue to wonder about their "specific" calling. What I mean this time is where they will live, what job they will apply to, who are the people they will reach out to and when, and so on and so forth.
This actually sounds like they want God to lay everything down to them on a piece of paper, a list that they will obey as per specific instructions. To some, this is how their "calling" looks and sounds.
To be honest, the Lord Jesus did say that everything He did, He did because the Father showed Him. But that didn't mean He lived every single day uncertain about His own direction and calling. He knew He was sent to fulfill the Law and die an undeserved death to satisfy God's righteous requirements.
What about us? Do we know what we're born for?
In this article we'll talk about three steps to fulfilling our specific callings in the Lord. What is written here is not a hard-and-fast rule that must be treated as a Bible of sorts. Rather, it's a short list of practical things we can use to fulfill our calling.
1) Know God's calling for all Christians
Friends, did you know that God has a general calling for all who believe in Christ?
This calling is called "Christ-likeness."
In Philippians 3:14, Paul tells us, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
What goal is this? It's Christ-likeness. This is God's will for all who believe.
"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29)
2) Strive to become Christ-like
Now that we understand that Christ-likeness is God's call for all of us, we should then strive to become like Christ even in the uniqueness that God has designed us with.
Some of us might misinterpret this and focus on religious aspects like our speech, our actions, and our outward appearance. While these things will surely happen, our focus should be on developing Christ-like character (see Matthew 23:26).
Because our focus is on our character, we will stop thinking of what we used to think about "callings." Instead of thinking of roles in God's Kingdom, we will instead think of ways to do God's will in our lives and in the lives of others.
But how do we work towards Christ-likeness? By obeying His Word.
"If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)
3) Think of ways to use your skills and talents to preach Christ to people
Now that we've established Christ-likeness as the goal and Christ-like character as the pursuit, it's time to fulfill the "calling" we all want to know and fulfill:
To be Christ's ambassadors wherever we go, whatever we do, whoever we relate with, whenever we can.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
Our focus now will be on how we can bring Christ to every person we can. Instead of thinking of roles and ministries, our focus will be on becoming the tool God can use to bring people to Himself.
That's something we will all be privileged to do.
