Today I attended the graduation of African International University. It was a joy to see one of my training colleagues, Gabriel Ochuka, receiving his Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership. I was struck by one of the challenges given to him and the other graduates, “Be true to your calling!” Once graduates leave their academic programmes, it is easy to be tempted to become distracted or allured into other pursuits, to do other good things and drift away from God’s call into the ministry Perhaps, in the ministry when we face challenges or discouragements we may begin to rethink our calling. When I was a pastor there would be times when I would say, “I just want to go and be a truck driver—but I can’t. I’ve been called by God to be a pastor.” A wise man once said, “Never doubt in the dark what God has revealed to you in the light.” If, in the good and fruitful times of ministry you have been convinced of the genuineness of your call, don’t doubt it in the barren and lean times. Be true to your calling.
I was struck by this challenge about our calling because in my course reading I was confronted by the fact that not only must we be true to our calling but we must also “trust our calling.” Sometimes we may be asked to attempt a task or ministry that is beyond us. We may feel that there are many others who are more capable or better qualified than we are. And that may cause self-doubt. The answer is not to quit, but to move forward in dependence upon God’s grace and enablement. Anthony Robinson and Robert Wall write:
“…[W]e are the ones who, in the strange wisdom of God, have been called to this ministry, to lead and to preach in this place and at this time. Who knows why God thought this was a good idea, but there it is. Perhaps someone else could do it better. But God has called us—or you—to this task, to this ministry to this moment. And while nervousness is natural…courage lies in trusting and obeying God’s calling.[i]
So where does this admonition against stooping come in? When I was in Bible College in the early 1970’s we had a guest speaker who spoke at our spiritual emphasis week. I don’t remember anything else he said during his messages except this, “If God calls you to be a preacher, don’t stoop to be a king!” What is the lesson for us? We should be true to our calling and trust our calling. We should never stoop to something lesser than the high and holy call of God to serve him and his church.
[i]Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall, Called to Lead, (Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012) p. 99.
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