Most of us do not really think very much about God's call upon our lives. In reality most of us ignore any thought that God may call us into a new life that sees us doing God's will. In baptism we are called by God into God's presence and service whether we actually acknowledge that in our lives or not. For many it just means that there is a sense of being present to God either as part of daily / weekly worship or perhaps doing something for the Church. Few of us actually find ourselves being nudged by God into a new perspective of God's call and how we answer, that is the question that is brought up for us today. We have the classic story of Samuel's call which the experienced priest Eli only recognised after three goes (1 Sam. 3.1-10). If someone as experienced as Eli cannot see immediately the influence of God has on a person then how sure can we be with our discernment within a small community?
God knows us from birth, in a manner of speaking, God is manifest within ourselves from birth as we are made in God's image (Ps. 139:14-15). Thus, God is present to us at the beginning of our life and Christian journey. Within each us is the spark of God's Spirit that leads us, if we were but to listen to God's voice. However, we are easily led away from God's presence by the lure of the world around us. We are left to make the decisions of life for ourselves not through coercion but rather through our own endeavours. The decisions that are pivotal in life are ones that forge the way forward in determining what we do or who we are. If, we are bold we listen to God's presence and follow what God's heart wishes for us but, unfortunately, it is usually our will and not God's voice that determines the course of our lives.
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians gives us some idea as to what we can do and the consequences of our decisions. Of course we have to understand the context, both social and spiritual, in which the letter is written otherwise we may have issues around sexuality. However, what Paul is indicating is that we are dedicated to God from the get go, so to speak. In being dedicated to God then we should understand that while we have the ability to determine what we do we are still bound in God's image. Anything that we do, which is contrary to God's call towards Christlikeness, is going to be detrimental in our lives. This does not mean that we have to be like the Puritans but we do have to understand what God's call on us implies and the consequences of our decisions. We often over react to Paul's words and wish to constrict our interpretation of what God calls us into being. It is the spirit of the admonitions that we need to heed not the substance. We need to live in a manner that is in keeping with Christlikeness. If we try to be Christlike whilst abusing our own lives, it does not matter what the form of abuse is, we will never truly achieve that which we are called to become, Christlike.
That is talking about ourselves but what about the discernment of God's call in others. Too often we are much like Nathaniel (Jn. 1:46), when we look at others, especially when we are in a close knit community. We automatically make assumptions because we have known the reputation or the history of the person concerned. If someone is called into a particular role or ministry there is often a "Can anything good come of this" response. We are automatically governed by our preconceptions and it often takes someone from outside the community to acknowledge the role and calling of people embedded in the community. It often requires us to have a different perspective whilst looking at the person to see what their role ought to be and what their role or calling is in actuality. Our preconceptions often come with how we have been taught or how we have been given information or even sometimes how others have treated us or the call God has had on us in the past. In the worst case, we may say that we actually do not have a call, alternatively it may mean that we are not genuinely following and doing what God has asked of us.
Prayerful understanding of what it is that God calls us to is the requirement. This needs and requires discernment on behalf of each of us as well as the community as a whole. We often need to suspend our own beliefs so that we can determine what it is that God is asking us to be and to become. This may mean painful or difficult transitions but once a path has been discerned it is often the case that our way forward becomes that much clearer. This often applies under the strangest of circumstances and does not stop the hardships but eases the way forward when we truly listen to God's prompting.
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