Have you ever considered why the Lord called you to be a
child of God? Was it to become a powerful preacher of the gospel, to be a
missionary in a far-off country or to be a good husband and father or wife and
mother? Is your calling to be a successful business person or an efficient
administrator? While these may be valid pursuits in life in obedience to the
calling of God, we need to look more closely into the Scriptures to identify
our true calling.
In my study of the Scriptures, I have discovered at least 41
calls that apply to the lives of believers. Consider, for example, that we are
called out of darkness into His marvelous light (see 1 Pet. 2:9) or that we are
called to be saints (see Rom. 1:7).
But not one of these 41 calls is our primary call. When God created Adam there were no churches
to pastor, no heathen to preach the gospel to and no businesses or offices to
manage. The primary reason God created Adam was to fulfill His desire for a
family with whom He could enjoy sweet communion. His first priority is the same
today as then: to enjoy His children in a love relationship.
Jesus declared, “’If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him’” (John 14:23, NKJV).
Our primary calling is our destiny to enjoy relationship
with God, not to work for Him. The work God gave Adam to do was to have
dominion over the earth. He was in charge of taking care of the place where he
would live with his descendants and where God would come to walk with him and
commune with him.
God’s desire for believers is to cultivate a love
relationship with each of us. In the context of that relationship He will then
give us specific tasks to do. Yet the tasks should never diminish the priority
of relationship with Him.
Of course, God has ordained that the church, the body of
Christ in the earth, serve one another as we serve God. But we must be careful
to prioritize our calling the way God does and not according to man’s
perspective. God intends that our service to the body of Christ and to lost
humanity proceed out of relationship with Himself. That relationship of worship
– the creature to the Creator, the redeemed to the Redeemer – will motivate us
to serve out of a heart of love for God.
I am convinced that whatever God does to advance His purpose
on the earth is born out of a worshiping people. When the woman at the well
asked Jesus questions about worship, He responded, “’The hour is coming, and
now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for the Father is seeking such to worship Him’” (John 4:23).
It was the woman’s question and Jesus’ answer that led me to
seek God and search the Scriptures in order to understand what Jesus meant by
worship in “spirit and truth.” God seeks worshipers who will cultivate a love
relationship with Him. He values our relationship with Him more than anything
we can or will ever do for Him. We can
show Him that we value it as well by laying hold of our primary calling to
enjoy and worship Him.
PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 2/6/2011
This week take time to worship and enjoy God. When you pray
tell Him how much He means to you and open your heart to receive His love in
return. Allow His Spirit to
permeate your being and His fruit of love, joy and peace to be evident in your
life. Remember those victimized by
violence, winter storms and other inclement weather. Ask the Lord for
opportunities to carry His presence and share His love with those in dire need.
Pray that people will cry out to God in the midst of their difficulties and
encounter Him as never before. Continue to pray for the protection of Israel,
the Middle East and our own nation.
(1 Pet. 2:9; Rom. 1:7)
