One of the easiest ways to avoid God’s call is to assume he must have meant it for someone else, someone more faithful, more gifted, more courageous, more qualified.
This week’s sermon explored two familiar stories: Abram leaving his homeland at God’s command and Matthew leaving his tax booth to follow Jesus. It’s tempting to read those stories as accounts of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. But when we look closely, the focus isn’t really on Abram or Matthew at all. The focus is on the God who called them.
Neither man appears in the story because he had already become everything God wanted him to be. Abram’s journey begins with a call to him at age 75. Matthew is still sitting at a tax collector’s booth when Jesus says, “Follow me.” God doesn’t wait until they are perfect. God calls them while they are still becoming.
The same may be true for us. We sometimes confuse humility with resistance. It’s one thing to say, “I’m not worthy.” It’s another to insist that our judgment of ourselves should outweigh God’s judgment of us. God’s call is not primarily about making us feel special. God blesses people so that they can become a blessing to others. Faith is personal, but it is never merely private.
Perhaps the question for us is not, “Why would God call someone like me?” Perhaps the better question is, “How shall I answer?”
If you’d like to explore that question further, I invite you to listen to the sermon and reflect on where God may already be calling you to take the next faithful step.
We’d love to see you in person at Lincoln Park-Lynnwood United Methodist Church, 3120 Pershing Street, Knoxville, TN. Come as you are. We’re not in the judging business. We’re in the welcoming business.
