To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7 NKJV).
Many of us strive to know the calling of God on our lives. We question whether or not we should be in a particular ministry, take a certain job, move across the country, and so on.
It is easy to get so caught up in trying to figure out the call of God on our lives in the above mentioned areas (and others) that we often forget the primary call of God on our lives: to be saints.
Although it is not easy to live out, the call of God to be saints never has to be questioned. Regardless of what stage we are in our lives, whether we are rich or poor, intelligent or lacking intelligence, talented or seemingly without great talent, every Christian is called to be a saint.
To understand what it means to be called to be a saint, let’s first look at what the words, “called” and “saint” mean. The word translated “called” in the Greek is kletos and means to be invited, and to be divinely selected and appointed. The word translated “saint” in the Greek is hagios and means to be holy. Thus, we have been invited and divinely selected and appointed by God, to be holy.
I think I would give up if I focused initially on the word, “saint” with its meaning to be holy, because I recognize how far short I fall. From a natural perspective, holiness is an impossible thing for us to achieve.
But we take comfort in the fact that God has called, or invited and divinely selected us to be holy. The fact that we are called indicates God’s involvement in the process. We’re not alone in our calling to be holy; the all-knowing God, the Creator of the Universe, is right there with us, as we walk out this calling on our lives.
Does God call us to do other things as well, other than to “just” be holy? I think so. But I also believe that as we focus on the call to be holy, the other things God has called us to do will become clear, and we’ll be better equipped to do them. If we focus first on our calling as saints, everything else will fall into place.
Father, we thank You that You have invited and divinely appointed each and every Christian to be saints. We thank You that You haven’t left us on our own to accomplish this task, but indeed are right here with us as we walk out this calling on our lives. Help us not to get so caught up in the other things You have called us to do that we forget our primary calling: to be saints. Amen.
Thought:
© 2007 by Rebecca Livermore
This week, spend some time in prayer or in your journal working through what it means to be called to be a saint. Consider how your calling as a saint fits with the other things God has called you to as well.