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October 2003
The Call of God
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October 2003
The Call of God
Yesterday I received a voice mail message from a friend. Both she and her husband are active duty Navy and the parents of a very bright and energetic young girl named Emily. The call was to ask if Deborah and I could help by providing a refuge from the hurricane Isabel. Since my friends live in Norfolk, they stand a very good chance of being in the path of this destructive storm.
It always seems to happen this way but the husband is at sea and the mother, a Navy Nurse, has duty. She must stay at the hospital, not only in case of an emergency, but because she is essential to the care of patients already hospitalized. Their need requires that she first make timely preparations for her daughter and then be prepared for complete availability for any who may need medical care. Such action may be required of all who serve in the military.
In like manner for all of us, the call of someone seeking help always deserves our earnest, prayerful consideration. In this case, Deborah and I readily agreed to open our house in case a place of safety was needed for Emily. Who can or would want to deny the request of a friend in need?
The call for help is the call of God to respond in some faithful way. In like manner, it is also true that the need of those in the hospital and the need of those who might be injured by the storm are not only a duty but also the call of God. The call of God is always present where there is human need.
Let me remind you that the ministry of the Church is just as much response to human need as in the urgent call to respond to an emergency. Education, Worship, Outreach, and Witness are all directed toward meeting human need and are received by the church as the call of God. These are not just nice programs that keep us busy. They are emphatically an intentional response to the call of God to meet the deep need of humans to know, to worship, and to serve God. These are not optional activities without any passion or urgency. These are urgent responses to deep human need and are conducted by the church as the call of God.
You and I, as a community of faithful followers of God, are a called people. We are physical expressions of God's very desire to be in close relationship with all humankind. We are instruments of God's care and form the body where God is worshipped and human brokenness healed. Lest we forget, we are also recipients of God's care. Others often provide care to us and in our responding to the call of God, we find ourselves being renewed and transformed into God's likeness.
So the question that comes to each of us is: "How faithfully are we responding to the call of God?" Listen...do you hear the call?
Grace and Peace,
David