called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
When I was a child and people asked me what I was going to be as an adult, I only had one answer: “I’m going to be a pastor.” The conviction I had inside was both strong and personal. I just knew that this would be my future.
Many children have thoughts and dreams about their future professions and carriers, and quite often the dreams never come true. If every child’s dream about the future would become reality, half of the male population of Russia would be either astronauts or professional football players. But somehow I understood that my assurance was of another kind. To be a pastor was not just something I wanted to do; I would certainly not mind being a football player myself. My conviction went deeper. I was convinced that this was neither an idea I had made up myself or something someone had told me. I simply felt that this was God’s will for my life.
Growing up, I did not speak much about this with others. But I remember how I sometimes envied my classmates who could choose their profession freely. Regarding myself, I felt that my course was set. And even though there were times when it seemed that this would never happen, and I actually turned 29 before I accepted my first pastoral position, the belief never left me that becoming a pastor was God’s destiny for my life.
But can God really speak to a child? And if He does, how can we know what is the difference between imagination and God’s voice?
God can speak to any human being at any time of life. He is sovereign in all that He does, and we must never belittle spiritual experiences that children have. A child is just as much a spiritual being as someone who is older, and sometimes it can even be easier for children than for grown-ups to experience God. Children have an innocence and simplicity we grownups sometimes lack. Remember the words of Jesus:
“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
It is easy for me to recall the strong sense of destiny I felt as an 8 or 9-year-old boy. When God calls, we never immediately understand the full width and consequences of what the calling means. God’s election often comes as a desire to serve Him, and as days and years go by, God will add more and more insight about tasks, times and places
The pastoral ministry never begins with us. As all other things in God’s kingdom, it begins with Him. Being a pastor is not just an occupation you choose, it is much more than that. God calls people into ministry. He challenges us, speaks to us and reveals to us that we are needed in His church. It is however important for me to state that not all will have the same specific experience of calling that I had. God can speak in innumerable ways. A calling can come with thunder and lightning like it did for Isiah and Paul, or like a quiet growing sense that this is God’s plan for my life. We must never try to turn our own experiences into doctrines, but leave it to the Lord to speak to each person in the way He chooses. What is important for us, is to understand that the ministry never begins with us. God is the origin of all things in His kingdom, including your ministry. John the Baptist said:
“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.”
And the apostle Paul raises this question:
“…what do you have that you did not receive?”
Only by understanding that God, and not you, brings you into ministry, can you develop the right attitudes of a spiritual leader.
Paul had a very strong awareness ofhis calling. He several times referred to the fact that he had not sought this, but God had elected him to be an apostle and a missionary. Like in this passage in the letter to the Galatians:
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through Hisgrace…”
Even though not all of us will be blessed with the same assurance of our calling as Paul had, what he says is true for all. God’s calling is simply there – from the beginning of our lives the election for ministry is a part of us. The Bible gives very few explanations about why God calls somebody. I guess Paul’s explanation is the best. God called him through His grace. It was not Paul’s merits or education that made way for him, it was God’s grace. He calls whomever He wants, and He does not need to explain why.
IT WAS NOT PAUL'S MERITS OR EDUCATION THAT MADE WAY FOR HIM, IT WAS GOD'S GRACE. HE CALLS WHOMEVER HE WANTS, AND HE DOES NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY
If you and I try to find out why God called us to be leaders in His church, we will end up with the same answers. I cannot see any reason at all why God would ask me to be a pastor, except His grace. He does what He wants, and for some unexplained reason He called me to be a youth pastor in Norway and then an assistant and a senior pastor in Moscow. If a person thinks he is called because of his personal qualities, he gets a very wrong start. God is the One who gives abilities to people as He chooses. He gives the skill to preach and He gives the ability to love and be compassionate. There is nothing we can boast about; all good things come from Him.
That acknowledgment is a correct starting point for ministry. Never try to understand why God calls you specifically. His elections are a mystery to us. He does what He wants. Our task is to continuously focus upon His grace, praising Him for His salvation and thanking Him that He counted us worthy to serve Him.
To see God’s grace in your calling does not in any way make you vanish. God elects, equips and calls, but it is you who must answer yes and faithfully stay where He places you. God said about Paul that “…he is a chosen vessel of Mine” (Acts 9:15). Paul was the vessel that God needed to bring the gospel to the nations. There cannot be any greater honour than that!
A calling is not first of all a blessing, it is first of all a responsibility. When you have said yes to serve God, you cannot just walk out when it suits you. You are responsible for someone and that responsibility must be taken seriously.
To accept a calling is therefore also to accept the price that has to be paid. The leadership responsibility can sometimes be a heavy burden to carry. Main characters of the Bible like Moses, Jeremiah and Paul had very troublesome days in their calling, and there were days some of them were ready to quit. But one of the reasons they did not was their deep personal conviction that they had to remain faithful to the mission God had given, no matter how difficult it was.
When Paul testified to the elders in Ephesus about how he endured heavy persecution, he referred to his calling:
“…nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
This profound commitment is the genuine proof of the power of a calling. Paul knew that God had trusted him with a task, and nothing was more important to him than fulfilling that task. People who are called by God will often have a sense of responsibility that is hard for others to understand, because it is a very deep and individual work of the Holy Spirit.
Though the workload will sometimes be intense and the responsibility a burden, there is a deep, God-given satisfaction in fulfilling what you know God has asked you to do. For a spiritual leader there is nothing more precious than this.
1. What
