CALLING. Ephesians 4.1-3

CALLING. Ephesians 4.1-3

Are you aware of your inner whispers? Inklings that draw you—impulses that push … pull … or cause you to think … or feel … or act? I mean--do you heed the inner whisperings that steer you toward certain people … or prompt you to explore unique pursuits? Of late, the notion of calling has worked its way into my psyche over and over.

Definition of CALLING – Merriam Webster

1: a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when it is accompanied by conviction of divine influence

Calling – we read about it as it pertains to medicine, teaching, and motherhood … I’m wondering, do you think everyone has a calling . . . at least one? Oprah says everyone has a calling. Everybody who is here is meant to contribute in some way to the uplifting of the planet, she says.

Recognizing that you have a calling matters; it especially matters when it is prompted by God, as Paul indicates here at the start of Ephesians chapter Four:

Therefore I, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to

Behave yourselves in a way that is worthy of the calling, with which you are called.

I urge you to behave with all humility,

and gentleness, and patience.

I urge you to bear with one another in love.

I urge you to eagerly preserve that unity which the Holy Spirit can bring

by binding things together in peace.

So those are the first three verses of what we see when we reference the fourth chapter of Ephesians. But I am stuck on the first of the three verses – what is the ‘calling with which you and I have been called’?

Thomas, Leslie, and Arman-- may I ask you a probing question? What is the difference between calling and purpose? Further, what difference does our understanding of each make? Can we live out our calling(s), and miss our purpose? And vice-versa—can we live out our purpose, and miss our calling(s) along the way?

These are the things that fascinate and intrigue me; these are the ways that I believe the Holy Spirit provokes my thinking, and prompts me to invite others into the discovery process; these are the very important elements of the inspirational aspects of the application of Scripture … like when Paul said, ‘I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you are called…’ You weren’t called once upon a time, and then nothing—you were called to some thing or things—and those for a lifetime.

Hmmm, how to think about your calling . . . perhaps you might be willing to brainstorm a minute, and write on a piece of paper, “My calling is …” and finish the sentence at least 10 different ways, in an effort to stimulate your thinking about what are (or were) the stirrings of your heart and mind.

You have a calling or callings, of that I have no doubt. So, how are you doing with your unique, God-given proclivities?

**Please respond—what is the difference between a calling and a purpose? What does that difference look like in your life?

Have you followed your calling(s), or shushed them? Why, why not? 'Ramifications?

Christine Todd DiGiacomo

PastorWoman.com