God’s Hope for Your Heart from Romans 1
GOD GAVE YOU A GREATER CALLING
Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God. (Romans 1:1)
The issue of calling is one we deal with throughout our life. As we grow up, we try to find our calling, that thing that will be our specific niche in the world. We’re searching for that thing we were born to do, the person we were born to be.
As we age, sometimes we look back and wonder if we fulfilled our calling well, or maybe we wonder if we missed it completely. We’re wondering if we did what we were really supposed to do.
Paul had no question as to what his calling was. It was this that brought power, focus, and clarity to his life. Paul had been well-educated, but academics were not his calling. He was a skilled tradesman who made fine tents, but his job was not his calling. No, Paul’s calling was to be a servant of Jesus and an apostle of the Good News about Christ.
Simply put, Paul was sent by Jesus to serve.
Everywhere he went, with everyone he spoke, Paul had a mission to share and to serve by telling them about Jesus. His training was secondary because Jesus called him. His gifting was secondary because Jesus called him.
And, if you’re in Christ, Jesus has called you to share and serve, too.
Your purpose in life is not defined by other people or by any earthly pursuit, but by something higher. More than your job, more than even your family, Jesus has sent you to share the good news wherever you go, and this is your greatest calling!
That means when the things and people of this world inevitably let you down, you can still have hope as you remember this truth: God gave you a greater calling.
-Pastor Phillip
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