What Is Your Calling? Series

When a couple is having difficulty in their marriage they often return to where they spent their honeymoon to remind them of what they had and to act as a starting point once more. It is a reminder of what you have and where you have come from.

I had the opportunity to do that a few years ago. I was a speaker at Camp Hermosa – a Baptist church camp near Goderich ON. That is the camp I was saved at 40 years ago. I have not had the chance to visit in many years. It was great to be able to go back to my beginnings and visit the exact spot and remember that moment that changed my life so many years ago.

Where is that place for you? Where is it that you go to in your own mind when things get tough and you feel like quitting? Maybe for some you cannot identify a specific place and time where you felt the Lord’s calling. Often we fail in our calling because we do not understand the significance and importance of what Christ has called us to. We forget what really matters. Do you understand that God has a plan for your life? Do you understand your calling and can you see how God wants to change the world through you?

In 1973 Gary Kildall wrote the first popular operating system for personal computers, named CP/M. IBM approached Kildall in 1980 about developing the operating system for IBM PCs. But Kildall snubbed IBM officials at a crucial meeting. The day IBM came calling, he chose to fly his new airplane. The frustrated IBM executives turned instead to Bill Gates, founder of a small company named Microsoft, and his operating system named MS-DOS. Fourteen years later Bill Gates was worth more than eight billion dollars. An author called Paul Carroll once said of Kildall, “He was a smart guy who didn’t realize how big the operating system would become”. In a similar way, people don’t often realize how big God’s kingdom will someday become. God comes calling with the offer of a lifetime, and we miss the opportunity and find other things to do.

2. RENEWING Your Calling – vs. 15-17

There are times in life when we will fail and fall. At those times we need to not only review but also renew our calling. No matter how badly you have blown it, Jesus wants to restore you. He still wants to be your very best friend and still can use you to build His kingdom. To do this there are some steps that you have to take. You need to confront your sin, admit it and confess. Once you resolve that, God can and will restore you and return you to fruitful service.

Jesus starts here by addressing Peter by his real name Simon. As Peter had not been much of a rock Jesus goes back to the name he had when they first met. There are many questions Jesus might have asked Peter that day. He might have asked, “Why did you deny me? What do you have to say for yourself?” Instead He asks Peter a simple question; “do you love me?”

Jesus is not implying that Peter doesn’t love Him. He is bringing Peter to the bedrock of what makes him tick. He is taking him to the prerequisite of all ministry. “Do you love me?” Nothing is more fundamental to who we really are than that. No question is more important or more basic. He does not ask him if he is a great speaker or a great people person. He does not inquire about his seminary training or Bible knowledge. He does not analyze his personality to see whether he has the people skills to do the job. All those factors are important but the starting point is love.