Responding to the Call

(Background passage: I Corinthians 1:8-10) 

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  -I Corinthians 1:9 (KJV) 

I used to have a friend in high school who always wanted the guys to give him “five” or the “high five.”  I tend to agree with comedian Jerry Seinfeld who said the high five is the lowest form of male communication.  If you didn’t give my friend five he would say, “Hey; don’t leave me hanging!”  When I consider the call of God in my life to be a follower of Christ and then to preach the gospel I realize had I not responded I would, in a sense, have left the Lord hanging. 

People have long struggled with what we refer to as the call of God.  All through the Bible there are instances of where the Lord called people into His service.  Abraham heard the call when the Lord told him to, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee” (Genesis 12:1).  Moses heard the call when the Lord spoke to him on Mount Sinai.  “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I” (Exodus 3:4).  The examples of this in Scripture are numerous.

There were those in the Bible who heard the voice of God as plainly as we hear someone speaking to us, yet most of the time the call of God is far more subtle.  The call of God comes as a firm conviction in the heart that trusting Christ and following Him in faith is the right choice.  I believe the Lord was speaking to my heart as a small boy when I would sit in church and listen to the pastor as he preached.  I recall thinking to myself, “I believe I could do that.”  As I grew older the call became actualized as I decided to follow what I felt the Lord was leading me to do, which was to preach the gospel. 

God is still calling people into His service.  The Lord calls people out of the darkness of sin, sorrow, bitterness, anger, and hatred and into the glorious light of Jesus Christ.  If you have never received Christ as Savior then I invite you to stop and listen for the still small voice of the Lord.  God is calling.  Don’t leave Him hanging.  Say yes, and commit to follow Him today.  The abundant life in Jesus Christ is waiting.  Experience the peace, joy, grace, and mercy which Christ brings.