Some men talk about a specific day or experience that became their call to vocational ministry. My path was different. From a young boy I wanted to be a pastor. We all have a variety of callings. Your calling may be a parent, child, spouse, professional, laborer, craftsman or whatever your skill set created in you by God and honed by you in years of training and exercise gets you out of bed every day.
One of my callings is vocational ministry. Here are 8 reasons I love my calling.
Nearly all of my closest friends come from the connection to my calling. I’ve served three churches and have deep friendships with men and women from each of those ministries. Had the Lord not called me to ministry, I would not know the amazing people I embrace as brothers and sisters.
My calling stimulates me to read, think, study, and write. Of course, my primary source is the Word of God, but my calling also exposes me to theology, history, current events, biographies, politics, philosophy, and nature.
Week after week I get to preach the gospel and the whole counsel of God to a group of people who want to hear what God says. They just keep coming back. I suppose if they didn’t, I could preach to Brenda, but I’m not sure how long that would last. My calling gives me an amazing and sobering privilege to declare, “God says...”
In my calling I’ve been able to watch the spiritual growth of Christians. Watching and being some small part of their becoming like Christ is a gift from God. Remembering what someone was or where someone has come from to see what they are now is soul-stirring.
My calling allows me to share in the intimacy of weddings as I listen to the whispered words from bride to groom or as I see his eyes as he drinks deeply in hers when he makes his vows.
On occasion my calling brings me in to somber but hope-filled moments when a family ushers a dying saint into the presence of Jesus.
Every time I’ve baptized a new Christian I marvel at the reality that I get to do it because God has called me into ministry.
Leading the church as we gather around the Lord’s Table to remember his death until he comes is one of the most humbling acts of my calling. This last Sunday I was moved to tears as we finished our observance when I looked out at our church and saw them hand-in-hand singing as one their praise of our savior, Jesus Christ.
There are more reasons I love my calling but this will suffice. How about you? What do you love about your calling?
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.