My Calling

In 2 Peter 1:10 we are encouraged to “make our calling and election sure”. How does that work? What does that even mean? In my thwarted, religious mind I’m already flexing my spiritual muscles and trying to make myself more worthy and behave better to prove that I’m good enough for God. That’s actually disgusting to God. In Isaiah 64:6 our self-righteousness is compared to “filthy rags”. The literal translation of “filthy rags” is “menstrual cloths”. Now, that’s a pretty vivid picture. Point taken.  It’s not only gross, but also ritually unclean (according to Jewish customs). 

In Hebrew the word for calling is Qarah קָרָה . It’s a continuous action. We’re not called once and that’s it – it’s an ongoing activity. It’s related to the verb qarar which means “to be or become cool or cold”, the way a well keeps its water fresh. Proverbs 25:25  says “good news is like cold (qar) water to the weary”, suggesting refreshment and invigoration. It makes me think of the manna in the Exodus-story.  In Exodus 16 we read about how “the whole community was grumbling” and then the Lord let manna rain down to feed them. But they were only to gather enough for that day, or else it would stink and get infested with maggots.  I believe our calling is like that. He is calling us every day. We pick up our cross daily and follow Him, whatever it looks like (Luk 9:23).  Our calling is not what we do for Him but it’s a calling to Him, to be with Him, to get to know Him, to become more like Him and to do what He asks of us from that relationship. The focus is on Him, not us.  He is working in us, continually, constantly. (Phil 2:12-13).  The calling is to align ourselves with what He is saying about us, with His truth. I believe this is what it means to “work out our own salvation” (Phil 2:12). The conjunction in the next verse is since, because, for. “For it is God who is working in you”.  We are working because He is working in us. Our work is yielding to Him. 

The word qarah appears in the first few chapters of the Bible when God called out (qarah) to Adam after the fall: where are you? It’s a call with the expectation of a response. It’s an invitation and a summoning. It’s a relational word, rather than rational. It’s not about me trying to figure out my calling and then “work for God”. It’s Him, working in me and me saying yes to Him and what He has for me, to be positioned for right happenings and God-ordained events. It’s a call to an encounter, an appointment. It’s the idea of a meeting. or a bringing together. Imagine a host running out to meet a prospective guest. It is purposeful and intentional. 

God calls me, but I’m also calling out to God, not as a last resort, presenting him with my wish list in life, like to some celestial Santa Claus, but in submission to His authority and will. In the secular world view we’re abandoned to a random universe, but the biblical world view is God-saturated. God is in control. We have embarked on the journey of becoming who God intended us to be, made in His image. When we’re calling out to God, we’re inviting God to give us instruction that we’re already committed to carrying out. In Genesis 3:20 Adam called or named (qarah) his wife Eve. It has to do with identity, who we are, not what we do, but becoming who we were created to be, finding our place in the puzzle, our belonging. 

The word qarah also means “to read and to proclaim, declare”. Qarah conveys the act of vocalizing or declaring something with intention and purpose, or “reading aloud” since that’s how leaders declared messages and preserved oral traditions in ancient Hebrew culture. We’re aligning ourselves with His word, with who He says we are – His own.  We are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, His poem that He’s reading out loud. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph 2:10). The Greek word for workmanship in Ephesians 2:10 is poiéma, associated with artistic and literary works, highlighting the skill and creativity of the creator.

Another Hebrew word related to qarah is kriah or keriyah which means ripping or tearing. It’s a Jewish funeral custom where you tear your garments to show that your heart is torn with grief. This is a vivid picture of our calling in Christ. We are called out of this world. There’s a separation, a ripping and a tearing. A pain even. We’ve been transplanted from this world into the next. We still live in this world, but our hearts are at home in a different realm, a higher reality – in Him. This is my high calling (Phil 3:14). To be holy, separated, unto the Lord.