What Does It Mean to Find My Calling?
I love origin stories, especially superhero origin stories. I know I am not alone because Marvel keeps kicking out movie after movie of heroes getting their start. Every origin story has the same stuff: the main character finds themselves in the middle of a significant conflict, is given supernatural abilities, and then learns to use those abilities to solve the conflict. If they are on a team, they use their ability to compliment the abilities of the rest of their team in order to solve a conflict they could not solve on their own. In other words, their calling is to identify and use their special abilities for the good of society.
Minus the CGI and signature outfit, our stories are very similar: we see a lot of good and evil around us and we ask the questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is my calling? We often use calling and purpose interchangeability and usually when we are describing our vocation, or what we do for a living. Culturally speaking, we lump these concepts together when we ask someone what do you do? Or what do you want to be when you grow up? This sends the message you are what you do.
Is that true? Are our identities dependent upon our vocation? Is this a cultural concept or does the Bible have something to say about this idea of calling?
What Do Call, Calling and Called Mean?
Our contemporary use of “calling” comes from the Latin verb “Vocare”, which means “to call”. It’s where we get our word “vocation.” Just by breaking down the word’s origins we begin to see where the interpretation of calling equals vocation comes from. In scripture (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) however, when God calls someone he is commanding them to do a task, to live in a certain way, or to be a certain kind of person.
God called Abraham to go- get up and get moving (Genesis 12). God called Moses to speak on behalf of God and lead God’s people out of Egypt (Exodus). God called Joshua to march around Jericho (Joshua 6). Throughout scripture we see God calling people to do things that result in supernatural outcomes.
But God also calls people to be. He calls us to be a people we seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micha 6:8). He calls us to be patient, kind, gentle, and selfless (1 Corinthians 13). He calls us to relationship with him through faith in Jesus (John 17). He calls us to become and then live as his kids (Romans 8).
On one hand, God calls people to tasks. On the other, God calls people to be. In a culture of self-actualization, we conflate the two and say: I am what I do. The problem is, we don’t just have one calling, but many. Of these many callings, we have conditional and unconditional callings.
Conditional Callings
I am a husband to my wife. I am called by God to love my wife and lay down my life for her. But my calling as her husband is conditional in that both of us have to be alive. If my wife passes away before me, then I am no longer called to be her husband.
I am a Pastor. God has called me to build up and care for his people within the local church. If I am fired, quit and pursue another line of work, or retire, then I am no longer a pastor. I may still care for and build up God’s people but no longer in the position of pastor.
Both being a husband and pastor are conditional callings, meaning they are temporary. The calling is dependent on a set of conditions. When we talk about discovering our calling we want to know what our purpose is but we often look for lasting purpose in the temporary.
What happens if you feel like your purpose in life is to be a mom, but you can’t conceive or adopt? What happens if you feel like your purpose is to be a worship leader, but you lose your voice? If we are what we do and what we do goes away, then we are…nothing. This interpretation of calling is not biblical. Our purpose, or significance, is not dependent on conditional callings.
Unconditional Callings
Contrary to conditional callings, unconditional callings are. Full stop. They remain regardless of what we have or don’t have. There are few unconditional callings that give us purpose.
God calls us to follow him. (Matthew 16:24)
God calls us his kids (Romans 8:15-17)
God calls us on mission with him. (Matthew 28:19-20)
God calls us to dwell with him forever. (Revelation 21:3-4)
Our purpose, first and foremost, is to know God and be known by him. No matter if we go from being married to single, employed to unemployed, able bodied to disabled, our calling to be in relationship with God never changes. Our identity and purpose is founded in God because he is, after all, the one who made us.
Our own origin stories and purpose within the conflict around us, begins with being grounded in the reality that we are his. It is from this position of being with God that we ask God what he wants us to do.
Resource: With by Skye Jethani