A Strange Calling

Exodus 2:23-3:12

There is a strangeness to our calling.  We cannot approach God because of his holiness, but we can’t accomplish anything without His presence with us.  As we consider our calling, it is good to look at Moses’ calling.  The most dominant aspect of the story of Moses calling is that the story has very little to do with Moses.  The person in discussion in this story is God himself.

Our freedom is a calling.  We are called out of the darkness and into His light.  We are called out of our old lives marked by the flesh and its desires and into new lives marked by the freedom of the Spirit.  We live our lives learning to leave behind the flesh and its desires for the new way of the Spirit.  Yet, none us should go for too long without wondering about the specifics of what God wants us to do with our time, what is my ‘calling’?  Or, to draw off the Latin root of the word, ‘vox,’ what does the voice of God say to me regarding my task?

With Moses, as with us, our calling comes from knowing clearly who God is.  He is holy to the point of danger (‘take off your shoes”).  He is compassionate to the point of sharing in our sufferings (‘I will be with you’).  It is a paradox almost too deep to plummet.  Yet it is God’s own character that He draws us to.  Are there things about ourselves that are helpful to learn as we discern our calling?  Yes. Yet here Moses needs to learn about God and the more he understands God, the better he will understand himself, his world, and yes, his calling.

How has understanding God better shaped your understanding of your calling? Click on the title above to take you to the blog and leave a comment.

posted by Marc