A guest post by Jeremy LeFevers…
This word has been thrown around my circle of influence since I was a babe. My dad was the pastor of several churches, my mom the epitome of the pastor’s wife, and my brother and I the perfect PKs.
So, understandably, “calling” is a staple in my family’s vocabulary.
The grand question for me until I was in my mid-20s was this: What is God’s purpose for my life? In other words, what has God called me to do? For much of my life I was engrossed in the activities of the church. I was part of every children’s program under the sun, and began my singing “career” when I was 5. All of my relationships were with other kids from the church. In my teen years, I was literally dubbed “Mr. NC Nazarene”—and I have the plaque to prove it. I went on to college and the cycle continued, only on a larger scale. I sang in a quartet, and was the chaplain for the sophomore class. I was heavily involved in my church college ministries, and led worship for the teen group of 100+…
And I burned out.
Christian singer, Steve Green, once visited the university I was attending and in a chapel service, stated that “God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line in the sand if He chooses to, but it doesn’t justify the crookedness of the stick.” I was stuck. I was a crooked stick. In my search for “calling” and “purpose” I had lost sight of the One who calls and gives my life purpose.
Friend—brother and sister—if you’re chasing the calling, you won’t catch it. I never did.
Fast-forward 17 years to today.
Now, at 35, post-college, with a failed marriage and now a solid re-marriage, three kids, and numerous job changes, this once mysterious term of calling—terrifying yet attractive—has taken on new and clearer meaning.
Jesus is the purpose. Jesus is the calling. Our calling and purpose is to live life as a “redeemed people who worship God and serve Him in the world.” It’s about Jesus. In our mission statement, Exodus has answered this age-old question of calling and purpose.
So, if you’re chasing the calling, stop. Pursue Jesus. Calling and purpose are found only in Him.
My two cents worth…
