Called

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

SENT TO DO WHAT?
 
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to an apostle... Romans 1:1

Paul, a servant of the One who became a suffering servant to us, was called by Him to be an apostle.  An apostle is someone who is sent out with a message.  At his conversion, Paul was given this assignment that would define the rest of his life.  He probably thought, before his conversion, that his duty was to protect the sanctity of the Jewish faith from Christian heresy.  As it turned out, he was to encounter Christ and become what he had once hated.

What was Paul's calling straight out of the mouth of Jesus?  And, is it similar to ours?  The mandate out of heaven was a clear and beautiful one.  Here it is in Paul's own words.  "Rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.  I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God."  (Acts 26:16-18)
              
Our understanding of the 'call' can get so muddied when we mix it in with the realm of spiritual gifts.  "I am called to teach, or encourage, or give to others, or show hospitality, or exhort."  But each gift is just a vehicle to the main event ~ 'Opening their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from Satan to God.'  That begs me to examine whether my understanding of my mission is clear enough.  What do I say when I encourage?  What do I teach when I open the scriptures?  Do I pick and choose inspirational topics and a smattering of scriptures that will make someone feel good or do I speak a Word that fashions a sharp arrow of conviction?  The answer to that question is whether or not my audience, large and small, personal and impersonal, is motivated to make a choice between darkness and Light.
           
Ah yes, Paul grasped it.  Perhaps he had an advantage because he saw the light, fell to his knees, and heard the voice of his Lord.  But that excuse won't grant me or anyone else living today any pardons.  God speaks even more powerfully to us now through the Spirit of the One who spoke to Paul because that Voice is not without, it is within.  He speaks each time I open His Word.  If my perception of what I was born to do is diluted and fuzzy, I cry out today with a full voice and an intensity of my heart ~

Let me hear your call again, Lord.  Wake me up.  Make my crooked path straight. Amen