"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3). Have you ever wondered what Paul meant when he used the words "calling" and "called"? What does it mean to be "called"?

I think we can assume that Paul wasn't writing only to pastors and members of the clergy. Unfortunately, they are the ones whom people today most often associate with having been called by God; therein lies some of our contemporary confusion around the meaning of the call. The church has bought into the dominant culture's penchant for professionalization and specialization to such an extent that most people have been convinced that only "the professionals" — that is, clergy — are called by God to do the work of ministry. This, however, is a common and unfortunate misconception.

Various dictionaries define "call" as "to awaken," "to summon to a particular career or pursuit," "a claim on a person's time or life," "a summons or invitation," and "a vocation." All of these definitions help us understand the nature of the call God gives to everyone who is baptized. That's right. Everyone who accepts the gift of baptism is called by God to the life and ministry of faithful discipleship. Our call is to accept and use the freedom and power God gives us to reject the powers of sin and death at work in the world around us. We are able to do this when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, trust in his grace, and join our lives with the life and ministry of his church in order to serve him in the world. This is the calling Paul wrote about in Ephesians 4:1. And it is this calling that empowers each of us to claim and employ the gifts God has given us for the building up of the body of Christ for the work of ministry in the world. It is important to always remember that the call of baptism and the life it gives to us are all gifts from God; they are grace given so that we may become channels of grace for the world.

While all persons who are baptized into Christ are called by God for the ministry of discipleship, there are a variety of callings. Paul writes about these in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. God creates us as unique persons with a variety of gifts. God calls each of us according to the gifts we are given for the building up of the community and so that the good news of salvation and the coming reign of God may be faithfully proclaimed and lived. Therefore, some are called to the vocation of ordained ministry while others are called to vocations such as teaching; raising children; participating in business, politics, or military service; building trades; repairing machines; programming computers; managing finances and investments; and so on. There are as many vocations as there are gifts given by God. Our task is to accept the calling of God to faithful discipleship and to employ the gifts God gives to serve Christ in the world.

What does it mean to be called and to accept that call? It means that our life is not our own, it belongs to Christ (see Galatians 2:20). To be called is to be part of a covenant community that is ordered by the good news of God in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen (John 15:12-17). The meaning of the call of baptism is loyalty to God revealed in Jesus Christ (John 15:9-10). To be called is to orient our life toward his so that the world will see him in us and we will build one another up in love (Ephesians 4:11-17).

Posted 3-25-03.

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