Live the Call!

Image: Alan van Gysen

Right at the end of Matthew’s Gospel - before Jesus ascends into heaven, Jesus leaves his disciples with this final mandate: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19

This is our call as disciples of Jesus. And this is our call as Christian Surfers.

This begs the question... what is God calling you to right now?

Before Jesus’ crucification - he made out resolutely for Jerusalem On route He encountered three individuals; the first boldly called himself saying, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

To the second Jesus simply said: “Follow Me.”

To which he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

And the third requested, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

So what can we deduce from these three engagements?

Firstly, only God has the authority to call us. We don’t choose our calling. Jesus does.  

And secondly, following Jesus is not on our own terms. It is on His.. 

In his book the Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:  

“Because Jesus is the Christ, he has the authority to call and to demand obedience to his word. Jesus summons men to follow him not as a teacher or a pattern of the good life, but as the Christ, the Son of God. In this short text Jesus Christ and his claim are proclaimed to all men. Not a word of praise is given to the disciple for his decision for Christ. We are not expected to contemplate the disciple, but only him who calls, and his absolute authority. According to our text, there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road–only obedience to the call of Jesus.”

So even though we all are mandated to ‘Live the Call’. Remember these two cautions:

Only God can call us into things. We CANNOT and must not call ourselves.

Psalm 75:6 says:

No one from the east or the west

or from the desert can exalt themselves.

It is God who judges:

He brings one down, he exalts another.

God calls us to serve faithfully where we are until He calls us into the next thing.

And secondly, when God calls, let’s be ready. His call is not an option—it is a command. May we respond in full obedience, knowing that He alone has the authority over our lives.

By Cyle