On September 6, 2015, during an ordinary Sunday service, I felt for the first time a “calling”. My initial response was a call to go (as we read from Genesis 12, Abraham’s call to go). A call to leave the homeland, into an unknown place.
I remember in 2010, after a month stay in Tanzania, I had an intense desire and passion to go on full-time, international missions; however, something in my gut knew that was not the answer, the time or call. I was ready to give up my potential career as a well-paid pharmacist, but God had other plans for me to take on a full time job.
Fast forward five years later, I now feel called. Called when things could not be better from the world’s eye—called when I’m very happily married, when our finances are relatively stable, flexibility and comfort of job situation, home owner at the age of 26, good social life amongst friends, nothing majorly wrong with family relations. And when things could not seem better, even being grateful at most times, I know that something was awry, something was off, my heart has not been content. And for some time now, going through this career journey, searching for what is my “call” and having experienced a gamut of experiences, I realize there is only one true call.
What was initially a call to go, a call to missions, I know that is not the ultimate call. The call is from the caller, the call is to a being, not a place, a job, or life purpose. Our life purpose is already defined—to be children of God, to be disciples, to glorify the Lord, to rejoice always, pray continually, to give thanks in all circumstances, to love the Lord and to love others—simple. Yet, as 21st century millennials, we complicate this to such varying degrees.
Our call, is never a call to go or a call to be, our call is a call to come. To come, and draw nearer to God, to be in greater intimacy with the Lord.
Yes, I agree and have been blessed through finding work as worship, to treat this area, my family and friends, as a mission field, my marriage as a mission field. However, throughout it all, all the changes, the one constant always draws back to God our Lord and the closer intimacy with Jesus Christ. On this journey, with all the doubts, the questions, everything has been drawing me closer to God and that is the only call.
Our purpose and focus should never be a career, a meaning, a vocation, a church, nor a place—all irrelevant. It’s simply a relationship (which we know is not that simple), not an ideology, religion, set of beliefs, or a philosophy to grasp nor a life to achieve both in a secular and Christian worldview. The Lord—as Mary sat beside the Lord—that’s all it’s about.
And each individual has different understandings, different degrees of knowing the Lord and with that a representation in our lives, a reflection of that relationship, of Jesus Christ. Some, to genuinely be called to a marketplace, a profession, or perhaps some to be examples in marriage; some to preach, some to teach, as expressed by Apostle Paul. But again, these reflections should never be the focus as “holy” as it may seem.
And with the talk of end of the world (nothing new in our time or of before), I can’t help but to think of not in short- or long-term thinking but want to begin thinking in terms of eternity. And I ask myself, how much do I really believe this? And as I ponder, it’s a matter of trust of how much more intimately I know the Lord. Just like in a relationship with a significant other, it doesn’t matter what stage or how long you’ve known the individual, there is a level of faith and trust that comes with committing to “human eternity”—i.e., till death do us part. It is through this commitment, covenant, we draw infinitely closer to an individual—never through short or long term commitments or time frame of knowing one other. And how much more so, will we know the Lord when we commit to him for eternity perspective.
Regarding end of world talk, U.S. dollar collapsing, it’s easy to focus our attention on these media grabbing topics (or rather lack thereof for now until it happens). However, regardless of the timing, it is certain, even aside from Christian perspective, that the collapse of the U.S. dollar is most likely inevitable. It is also, if belief in the Christian God is true, that the times of our fallen world we know will end. Regardless of each belief, we can put our trust/faith in one or the other, both, or neither and that affects the way we live our lives. If we really believe the U.S. dollar will collapse, would we not find measures to be prepared, to be guarded? Just like we would do if we receive a warning about a potential hurricane to hit our area. If the Christian end times is true and regardless of whether we know when, would we still not live a life reflective of that? And of course, it may look different as is to the measure of faith of each individual’s relationship with God.
I don’t know what will happen three days from now, I don’t know what my specific reflection of my relationship with God will look like, nor what location or vocation I should be. But one thing is clear as it always has been—to love God with all my heart, mind, and soul. It is this commandment, the greatest commandment, that has led to all the greatest truths and revelations in my life.