In my blogs
of August 6, 9 and 15 I referred to Martin Luther Kings, Jr. “Call.” The word “call” in the church and religion is
imbued with deep and often confusing meaning.
In one way it is quite simple: we are referring to the ways God “calls”
us to follow. However, trying to
understand and interpret that calling can often be confusing. And throughout our lives that “call” often
changes, as I have tried to suggest regarding the lives of Coretta and Martin
King.
When we come
to a time in our life when we decide we really want to try to be open to God’s
call, the first thing we normally seek is some kind of a clear sign. We would be fine with a burning bush, a
dream, a vision, or some kind of voice speaking from the heavens. However, it seldom happens that way. And that is where the confusion comes
in. Just as most of us did not become a
Christian or follower of Jesus through some dynamic “religious or conversion experience,”
so most of us will not discover God’s calling for us through a clear, defining event.
On NPR the other
day I heard an interview with a 32-year old folk singer named Regina Spektor. She was asked what event precipitated her
writing the song, “Laughing With,” which refers to a great variety of
experiences in life in which a person does not laugh at God. I loved her answer. It was not one event or experience. It was a constellation of experiences that
somehow just came together in that song, a constellation she probably could not separate out or explain clearly.
So it goes
in the spiritual life. Often a calling
starts out as a faint inclination, a strange restlessness, a new insight, and
then grows into something bigger and clearer.
Or, sometimes the clarity never comes, but we venture forth anyway, like
Abraham and Sarah, not exactly knowing where they are going, but trusting that
God is somehow leading them.
I will share
some examples from my own life. But
first I would like to hear from you.
Past, present, future, how do you understand God’s calling in your life?
No comments:
Post a Comment