The Call (Part Two)

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:

‘Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
(Genesis 12:1–3)

The call of God comes to a person where he is. Abraham did not go out to meet God and introduce himself, looking for a job or a place in His graces. God went looking for Abraham, and He found him sipping tea alongside a bunch of idol-worshipers at Ur of the Chaldees. And we like this part of the call, because we want to be taken as we are, where we are, with the clothes we have on, “just as I am,” nothing I have to do to receive the grace of God—except receive it, that is.

The catch is, the call doesn’t leave us there. That is exactly what the call is all about—it is a call to leave, to go out, to change, to do something, and to do something different from what we have been doing. Abraham had to leave the tea sitting on the table and follow God into the unknown, “a land that I will show you,” a land he had never seen before. Yes, God came to him first, and God is going to take him where he needs to go. But Abraham cannot follow the call of God and also stay where God found him.

Some who thought they wanted to follow Christ got snagged on this part of the call. “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Seems like a reasonable request to us—“honor your father and mother,” and all that. But Jesus replied, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” This man wanted to stick around and take care of business when the call of God led him across the lake. On one side were the spiritually dead; on the other was Life Himself.

Abraham had his choice, and we have ours. Will we follow or stay? We cannot have it both ways. Following Christ means leaving a lot behind—pet sins, “innate” personalities, long-held relationships, otherwise justifiable loyalties, comforts, and identities. But what an exchange! Following Christ also means becoming a son of God, inheriting the blessing of God, becoming a blessing to the rest of the world, and living as a citizen of the truly Eternal City. It means radical change from who we were to what God calls us to be, from a life that is doomed to a life full of never-ending love and joy and peace and holiness.

God calls. We follow. And the blessing of God follows us!

“God, we give thanks for Your call on our lives, and we pray we would be faithful followers. Do not leave us where we are, dear God, but take us where You want us to be, make us what You want us to be, mold us and shape us into the very image of Christ. Grant to us the grace to leave behind the world and our sins and whatever else that keeps us from following You; and grant to us the blessing You promise to all those who follow You, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”