November 13, 2006

When God Calls,
How Will You Answer?
By Pastor George Van Alstine

The Bible is all about how God intervenes in human history to stop the slide of his special creatures into destruction. He does his intervention by selecting individuals and then calling them to a special task. Because the drift of humanity is away from God, responding to his call always means swimming upstream, against the natural flow. For this reason, those who truly understand what God’s call means never say “Yes!” lightly or easily.

There are some classic character studies in the Bible that demonstrate the variety of possible responses to God’s call. Which response do you identify with most closely?

(1) “No!” It is possible to say “No” to God, but if he really wants a person for a particular task, he won’t take your “No” for an answer. Think of Jonah. His “No” was very emphatic—he got on a boat going in the opposite direction from God’s call. But God’s will was a whale of a lot stronger than Jonah’s! (Jonah, chapter 1) Peter said “No, never!” when Jesus wanted to wash his feet. He seemed to understand that Jesus was calling him to a life of the same kind of sacrificial service to others. When Jesus would not accept his “No,” Peter changed it to a wholehearted “Yes” (John 13:8-9).

(2) “Why?” The Book of Job shows that God doesn’t mind our asking “Why?” But it also demonstrates that we’re not likely to get an answer, because after all their give-and-take, God never explained his reasons to Job (Job 42:1-6). When Judas saw the wasteful anointing of Jesus’ feet by a grateful woman, he asked “Why?” Why wasn’t the value of the precious oil given to the poor? No answer was given, but Judas was still expected to do the task Jesus had called him to—watching over their common treasury (John 12:1-8). The most famous “Why?” in the Bible came from the mouth of Jesus on the cross: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” No explanation came from heaven, and the Son of Man quietly and obediently bowed to his great calling (Mark 15:34).

(3) “Who Me?” God called Moses to one of the most crucial leadership roles in history, and Moses repeatedly pointed out how unqualified he was: “I am not eloquent; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” But God saw his weaknesses as strengths and used him anyway (Exodus 3:10-12). Paul believed he had been called to fight against Jesus, but God called him to fight for Jesus. His sense of unworthiness was expressed years later: “I am unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). But God followed through on his call in spite of Paul’s “Who Me?”

(4) “How?” Probably the most famous “How?” in the Bible came from the lips of Mary, after the angel told her she would give birth to the Savior: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) A similar “How?” was expressed by Nicodemus regarding another birth, the Spiritual Birth to which Jesus was calling him. He asked it twice: “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” and then, “How can these things be?” (John 3:4, 9). It’s interesting that, unlike his response to “Why?” questions, the Lord goes to considerable lengths to answer the “Hows?” of Mary and Nicodemus. In both cases he tells them the birth is the result of the Holy Spirit’s miraculous work, and is not explainable by normal science.

(5) “Here I am.” This is the simplest, humblest response, and its classic Biblical expression is from the mouth of a child. Samuel thought it was his mentor/priest Eli calling, but it was the Lord. Samuel’s response would have been the same either way, “Here I am”—the words of trusting obedience (1 Samuel 3:4). The prophet Isaiah was an adult and knew a lot more about the world and life’s harsh realities when he said “Here I am.” But he also had some new knowledge—an awesome, life-changing vision of God’s majesty and holiness. He had no questions, no resistance: “Here I am; send me” (Isaiah 6:8).