“I did not call you to preach like these men, I called you to preach the Gospel.”
This is something that we all need to remember, we have all been called as
Christians to ministry but not all called to the ministry and not all called to teach
and preach as you said that is a very serious call and that needs not to be taken
lightly. We must know for sure that we are called to the ministry, and once we
know then we “take comfort in knowing that if you are called to the ministry, you
have been called by God- and if not it’s because He has called you to something
else.”[1] I think that this call is of great importance and also that the call can
change over time from primarily preaching to just teaching or mentoring as God
calls us through the chapters of our lives, As Allen reiterates the pattern that God
uses throughout the bible, “God calls, God commission.”[2].
It is always very interesting to me to get to learn about how other people received their
calling. It is especially intriguing when someone receives the call at an early age. Given
that I didn’t receive mine until much later in life, I’m left wondering whether it was a
matter of not receiving the call until later, or me not listening earlier. As Allen writes,
“Every Christian is called to minister”[1] and goes on to say, “First Corinthians 12-14 and
Romans 12 show how God gifts every believer to function in the body of Christ.”[2] I
wonder if it was a matter of me not being a true believer in my early years. I remember
being taught to believe in God as a child but admittedly, I don’t think I really understood
what it meant until I became an adult. I admire all who gained the understanding in their
early years.
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c [1] Jason K. Allen, Discerning Your Call to Ministry: How to Know for
Sure and What to Do About It: Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2016, 23.
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c [2] Ibid.
