Called to ...?

We are in some manner called to follow God from baptism onwards. God's call is not the same for each and every one of us. Isaiah is called to be a prophet to the people, a call he responds to when he hears God ask "Who shall I send?" (Is. 6.8). The fishermen follow when they are called to become "fisher of men" (Lk 5.10). Sometimes we fret about the fact that we are not called to this or that. Occasionally we find that our call is so different to others that we are unsure about our own call because it does not conform with, or is not traditional, or is perceived not to be a call because it falls so far outside of our known understanding that it cannot possibly be from God. So how do we know to what and to whom we are called? How can we understand the impossible that is possible in God's eyes?

Sometimes when we dream large we get caught up and leave others behind us. Sometimes when God calls we seem to think that others will automatically follow us. It took many days and indeed forty years before the Israelites understood what Moses and God was calling them to. Even when we dream small dreams we still think that others will automatically follow those dreams. Even the prophets led by God had problems and the disciples continually failed until after Christ had left them. Christ knew that when he called his disciples and the fishermen from Galilee that they would not be ready immediately. His words are "you will be fishers of men" not "you are". It is a future dream that will become a reality. We are often too impatient to see the reality. I cam across a story recently about a funeral of a person with DMD (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy). It intrigued me because I worked with a research group looking at DMD in an earlier incarnation.

There is always danger in following God's call.

The story reported that the young man's funeral was attended by a few mourners mainly relatives. This was to be expected as typical for this disease the young man did not socialise, nor was he able to go out. However, a different story emerged during the funeral as there were a number of strangers unknown to the family who had turned up. They had met with the father the day before and one of them spoke at the funeral. Unbeknownst to the family, the young man did indeed have friends all over the world. The young representative of this group told them that candles were being lit for him all over Europe. The reason was that he had been an integral and much loved member of a community that met online as immersive gamers. So, his calling was not visible to those around him but was to many whom he met and gamed with during the long hours of the night. What does this tell us about our call and how we need to behave. (Perhaps there is even a place for missionary gamer!!)

Simply put we can never as the old saying goes, judge a book by their cover. Indeed sometimes we need to remind ourselves never to judge according to our own desires, needs and criteria. Isaiah was called out in a vision seen by himself. He responded and did not have an easy life. He was not necessary well liked doing things which I am sure he did not necessarily want to do. But his calling was from God and he responded to that call. Our calling may not appear to be fruitful, be hard work, be boring , be something other than dramatic but it is still a call from God to be what God wants us to be and to which we need to respond. We all make mistakes but we need to learn from them and approach life knowing that God is about change and movement not about stillness. The Israelites took forty years to discover their true purpose. The disciples had to wait until after Christ's death before they produced fruit. Sometimes it is a question of accepting and not fighting. Sometimes it is about fighting and not accepting. Which ever one it is it is always about listening to God speak and lead and not about allowing others to pressure us into decisions that are theirs and not God's. God is happy to wait. Sometimes waiting is the hardest but sometimes it is the most productive period of our lives as we prepare to bring God's word into the community through our actions.