CALLING OR CAREER

Calling or Career?

I received an e-mail from a young man in the Philippines.

"My beloved brethren and sisters, I am one of your brethren in Christ here in the Philippines especially in Southern Mindanao . I am so sure that we are one in Christ; I am member of the "church of Christ conservative (non-instrumental and non-institutional)." I had been looking to communicate some christian (sic) brethren whom I don't know yet. I am only 17 years old but age doesn't matter in preaching the Gospel of Christ."

Has he received a call from God to reach out in Christian love to the world with Christ? Or is he seeking a career to advance himself? God knows, but I do not. Some sought religion as a means of gain (1Timothy6:5). But we are to be constrained by the Love of Christ (2Cor.5:14-18). And those who would be spiritual leaders should themselves pursue spirituality (1Timothy6:11-16).

The faith and worship of the church is a sacred trust. This is to be preserved intact. Personal likes and dislikes, and personal gain should not be in the picture. Spiritual ignorance is not a virtue. Some would best serve the Lord by working at a day job and avoid being busybodies.

Paul the Apostle said: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1Cor 2:1-5 (NKJV)

On the other hand, Timothy was barely a teenager when Paul called him to be a Christian worker (Acts16:1). Timothy was destined to be one of Paul's chief coworkers and was to receive two of Paul's Letters. Paul was the church planter. He surrounded himself with young people who would share the call of God. And he reached out to people who were already tuned in to God. In Philippi he found Lydia, a believer in the true God of Judaism, a Gentile. She was a well-to-do business woman with a large home sufficient to host the Christian missionaries. And this led eventually to the conversion of the Philippian jailer. Lydia's house became the center of a Christian congregation to which Paul addressed his Letter to the Philippians.

A proverb says: "It is better to get 10 men to work, than to try to do the work of 10 men." Paul sometimes found it necessary to "make tents" to support himself. But he multiplied his efforts by using all available talent. Another proverb says: "Good enough is good enough." Experience is a great teacher and there are no shortcuts. One who loves the Lord and is doing his/her best at the moment, will gain expertise as time passes. Things learned today will prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow. We must reach out in faith asking the Spirit of the Living God to point us in the right direction.

And Paul the Apostle said: "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1Cor 13:13 (NKJV)