From the Pulpit: God is calling
Hospital calls. Work calls. Phone calls – but so many today forego this one and opt for texting and messaging! Daily we’re involved in calls. But what about “Divine”” calls?
As of November, my family and I are new to the Brandon community. God in His wisdom moved Blessed Redeemer to extend me the Call to serve as their pastor. A Divine Call: it’s humbling, mentally and emotionally it’s draining, spiritually it involves wrestling, but the process is still amazing.
Christian churches and denominations differ so much on the practice of the Call. Some pastors are moved by the “powers that be” every few years. Some pastors, when moved, find themselves serving within a certain geographic area while others move far away (we relocated from northern Minnesota). Some pastors actively seek a Call as they feel the Lord moving them to delve into other areas of ministry. In the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), pastors are not “moved” and they don’t seek a Call. As in my case, we are “offered” or extended a Call. Then a time of prayerful deliberation begins. Is God calling me to continue with our relationships and ministry in Minnesota? Is God calling me into a new ministry field with new people, opportunities, and challenges? It’s a humbling experience full of spiritual reflection and renewal.
Yet, I am not the only one wrestling with a call. I may have a Divine Call to serve in a position of public ministry as a pastor. But each and every one of you experience divine calls every day. What opportunity is God calling you to with family or at work? What guidance is God providing as He calls you to a certain decision about the future? How is God calling you to serve someone other than yourself: at work, in your neighborhood, in our community as a whole? “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11 GW). Our decisions and opportunities are never separate from God’s work. God is always directing, guiding... calling.
His call also extends you His forgiveness and grace. God is at work pointing us to – and giving us – Jesus, with whom there is forgiveness that He won on the cross and by rising to life. God is calling! God is forgiving! He is calling you.
