What is Your Calling?

Romans 1:1c

We will conclude the first verse in today’s article. In this verse we have already seen what it means to be a bondservant and what separated different forms of apostleship. Today we will focus on the gospel that Paul was called to preach.

Many of us know the story about how Paul was saved. He was traveling on the road to Damascus to arrest more believers. On the way, Paul saw a blinding light which dropped him to his knees. This is where Jesus met him and called him to Himself (Acts 9).

What we tend to miss is what Jesus told Paul later, and perhaps it is because it is not found in Acts 9, but in Acts 26, when Paul recounts his conversion. Here we see in verse seventeen that God is calling Paul specifically to the Gentiles. It says, “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you.” God had a specific plan and purpose for Paul, or a specific gospel that he was called to preach.

To be clear, this gospel is not different then the gospel that Peter was called to preach, namely, to the Jews, and it is no different then the gospel we are called to preach today either. The gospel is always the same. The good news is always the same good news. We are sinners, Jesus has died for our sins and has set us free, so that we may be declared righteous and may forever glorify Him!

We can see in Acts 26 that God specifically told Paul that he was called to preach to the Gentiles. But we can also look at an earlier time that Paul was called to preach the gospel. This calling was before he could even walk or talk.

In Galatians 1:15-16, Paul writes, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach among the Gentiles….” In other words, Paul is stating, under the inspiration of God, that he had been chosen by God when he was born. He had been separated by God specifically to preach to the Gentiles!

This is not the first time we see this in Scripture. In Jeremiah 1:5 we see a very similar calling. Here God tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah was separated by God before he was even born to be a prophet of Israel. It was not a mere suggestion; it was what he was called to do.

What is interesting about both of these instances is that neither man was keen. Paul says at the end of verse sixteen that he “did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,” while Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 1:6 that he was too young and not wise enough to say the right things. However, both men did accept their callings and obeyed God fervently even though it cost them greatly.

We may not have clear callings like these men did, few do, but we do have a specific calling. That may be something you don’t want to do just like Paul and Jeremiah. However, like Paul and Jeremiah, we ought to obey Him. Obeying God is always the best place that we can be. He is always doing what is best for us, even when it does not appear that He is.

What are you called to do? What am I called to do? Perhaps to go overseas and to serve Him as a missionary, trying to reach those who are lost. Perhaps to stay where you are, witnessing to unsaved coworkers and serving in your church. I don’t know what you calling is, and I am not sure I even know mine. Perhaps He is calling us to wait on Him and trust Him while He prepares us for our calling?

What we do know is that we must be faithful, we must be obedient, and we must strive to be holy and blameless as we aim to glorify Him. If we do those things we can be confident that we are in the will of God, ready to be used if and when He calls on us. it may not be the calling you want, but it will be worth it to surrender. If you read through Paul and Jeremiah’s lives you will see that there was some extreme hardship and pain. Paul recounts a lot of his struggles in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, and Lamentations is full of Jeremiah’s pain and sorrows. However, both men were obedient to the end, finding joy and peace in the One Who led them through these difficulties and never forsook them. It is worth it to serve the Lord.

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