How Christians Get "Calling" Wrong

The following content comes from Always Becoming, Never Arriving: Developing an Imagination for Teaching Christianly. It is used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers, www.wipfandstock.com.

Many Christians like to talk about calling, in the sense that they are “answering God’s calling” in their lives. Perhaps this is no wonder; when we read the stories in Scripture, we can see countless examples of people that God called to specific roles. The stories of Patriarch Abraham, and Law-Giver Moses, and Prophet-Judge Samuel, and King David, and dozens of others throughout the Old Testament give evidence of this. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul’s dramatic conversion story of flipping from persecutor to missionary is a compelling depiction of the impact of responding to God’s call. And certainly, the stories of Jesus’s calling of his disciples by saying, “Follow me!” gives us a sense that there is something specific about God’s calling. 

There is one story of calling in the Bible that has always captured my imagination. The book of Jeremiah opens with his recounting of how God called him to serve as a prophet. Jeremiah hears God’s voice: 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”⁵ 

Jeremiah’s response to God’s calling? He says: 

“Ah, sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak. I am only a child.” 

But the Lord isn’t having any of that! God’s response to Jeremiah is clear, and a little terrifying: 

The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” 

God clearly has specific plans for Jeremiah—so specific that he calls him by name, and describes exactly what his intentions are, and the way he is equipping Jeremiah for the task God has prepared for him. 

Speaking only for myself, I am jealous of Jeremiah. I’m not jealous of the work God called him to; if you read the rest of the book of Jeremiah you will find that he had an incredibly difficult life, and though God was with him in every part of his struggles . . . Jeremiah definitely had struggles. No, I’m jealous of the clarity of the calling Jeremiah received. 

There have been seasons of my life when I have been trying to discern what I should do when I felt that God’s calling was opaque and unclear. I know I am not alone in this; many fellow believers can tell tales of seeking to discern God’s calling in their lives. I wish that I too could hear God’s voice giving me specific direction about his will for my life. Maybe the Lord could give me a burning bush moment like Moses? Or call out to me at night like Samuel? Or knock me off my feet on the road to Damascus like Paul? 

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I think that reading the Bible has set me up to expect that people always receive a calling from God in a spectacular way. In truth, the problem is not the Bible; the problem is me. In my sinful human nature, I want to be “special,” like those biblical heroes who receive specific calling from the Lord with clear directives on what they are supposed to do. But here is where I think many Christians—myself included—get “calling” wrong. 

I have good news for you! Are you ready for it? Here’s the thing: you have received a specific calling from the Lord, and so have I. The whole of Scripture points to your calling, to what you are supposed to do: if you are a Christian, your calling is to follow Jesus. Jesus specifically says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” This might not feel like the kind of dramatic calling of hearing God’s voice, but don’t miss what is happening here: Jesus himself is giving you a specific task to do! This is a spectacular story of receiving your calling, similarly wondrous to the ones people in the stories of Scripture have received. Rather than a burning bush, the Lord ensured that a book would end up in your hands that gives you a special revelation from God himself: if you are a Christian, you are called to follow Jesus.

A Biblical View of Vocation 

At several point in my life, I have grappled with making a choice, feeling like I desperately wanted to follow God’s will and struggling to see what he was truly calling me into. Often these weighty moments were related to my job: should I move across the country to take a teaching job in a new place? Should I pursue a different position in my school? Should I take on this new responsibility? God, give me clarity in my vocation! 

Vocation is a word that we often use as a synonym for “work,” or “career,” or “occupation.” But there is more to the word “vocation” than might first meet the eye. The root of this word comes from the Latin word vocare, which shows up as the root several other English words, including vocal, voice, and vociferous. What does this word mean? It means summoning, inviting, bidding, calling. Calling? Ah, here we are: the word “vocation” means “calling!” Your vocation is, in fact, much more than just a job . . . your vocation is your calling. As Steven Garber puts it, 

The word vocation is a rich one, having to address the wholeness of life, the range of relationships and responsibilities. Work, yes, but also families, and neighbors, and citizenship . . . all of this and more is seen as vocation, that to which I am called as a human being, living my life before the face of God. [Vocation] is never the same word as occupation, just as calling is never the same word as career. Sometimes, by grace, the words and the realities they represent do overlap, even significantly; sometimes, in the incompleteness of life in a fallen world, there is not much overlap at all. 

Here is a biblical insight into what it is you are called to do: if you are a Christian, your vocation is to follow Jesus. Jesus’s call to his would-be disciples is, “Follow me.” He calls you to follow. 

I hope this is a word of comfort and encouragement to you, particularly in times when you are trying to discern God’s will for your life. Perhaps it gives you—like me—a chance to lower what can feel like very high stakes a bit. Since coming to reimagine my “vocation” this way, I am freed to ask the question, “Can I faithfully follow Jesus if I am heading down this path?” And if the answer is yes, I think this is an indication that I am following God’s will for my life, responding to his calling, living into my vocation. 

Maybe this feels a little too loose for you though, not specific enough? There certainly are individuals in the Bible who are given a very specific and narrow calling, like Jeremiah. (“Before you were born, I set you apart . . . ”) And I too want that kind of specific calling in my life, honestly. I wish God would say, “Before you were born, I set you apart to be a Christian teacher!” This does not seem to be the way the Lord works in most situations, however. But this is not something we need to lament! The broader sense of calling—of vocation—as faithfully following Jesus is in fact a blessing for us. It bids us to do the joyful work of discerning our identity, and understanding how God has uniquely gifted us, and how we can see these gifts as part of his equipping of us for many possible ways to live out our vocation. Garber encourages us in this work of discernment by inviting us to ask the question, “Knowing what I know about the way the world is, what am I going to do?”

This broader sense of calling is an invitation, an invitation to participate in the ongoing work of restoration God is doing in this broken-but-beautiful world. Christians, as members of Christ’s body, are invited to work towards the renewal of all things. Fredrick Buechner’s often-quoted thought on the meaning of vocation gets at this invitation: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What a thought, and what an invitation! 

This is the discerning work we get to do then: let’s notice how God has created us: what gifts, and talents, and strengths, and passions do you have—and how these bring you joy and delight? Let’s also have a look around at the world: what broken places, hungry places can you see? And then the key: how can you faithfully follow Jesus, using what God has given you to joyfully work towards addressing those broken places? 

Called to Teach 

The question raised throughout this chapter is, “What is this teaching thing about? Is it a job? A calling? What are we doing here anyway?” Teaching certainly is a job. Teachers are professionals with specific knowledge and skills, and are compensated for the work that they do. But is teaching more than just a job? For Christian teachers, I think that the answer must be a heart-felt, “Yes!” 

Is teaching a calling? My answer is yes; we are called to teach. I suspect that you did not hear the Lord’s voice audibly from the clouds, though that is certainly possible. More likely, you’ve found yourself reading this book after some thoughtful discernment. Perhaps you’ve noticed how much you love spending time with kids. Maybe there is a particular subject that you simply adore. Maybe your life was profoundly impacted by a teacher, and you have realized that you want to have that kind of impact in the lives of others. Maybe someone else has named your gifts and suggested that you would be a great teacher. God uses many ways to help us become aware of how he equips us for responding too Jesus’s call: “Follow me!” 

If we are open to the broad view of calling as faithfully following Jesus wherever he might lead us, teaching is definitely a calling for Christian teachers. Teaching is a way for you to seriously seek to live out your faith. 

Teaching is a way to use your gifts to educate young people and have a hand their formation as they grow and develop. Teaching is an opportunity to declare “Jesus is Lord!” through your daily work. You are called to teach!