Conversion & Calling, Student Workbook, SW01

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C O N V E R S I O N A N D C A L L I N G

The Road We Travel

Devotion

Read Matthew 4.17-22 . What is your purpose in life, the ultimate concern, the supreme “why” behind all of the “whats,” “whos,” and “hows” in your life. No person can live a full rich life, or come to any kind of understanding of what they are to do without knowing what they have been called to, and what God demands of their specific, individual lives. Os Guiness, in his intriguing book The Call , speaks of this deep passion in the heart of everyone to come to find their ultimate purpose in life. “Deep in our hearts, we all want to find and fulfill a purpose bigger than ourselves. Only such a larger purpose can inspire us to heights we know we could never reach on our own. For each of us the real purpose is personal and passionate: to know what we are here to do and why. Kierkegaard wrote in his Journal : ‘The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wants me to do; the thing is to find a truth which is true for me , to find the idea for which I can live and die ’” (Os Guinness, The Call . [Nashville: World Publishing, 1998, p.3]). Jesus was preaching the reign of God come to earth, calling men and women to live for the Kingdom of God which had come in his person. Encountering Simon and Andrew, and James and John, two pairs of brothers who fished as a calling and vocation, our Lord called them to a higher, more true, and ultimate purpose. To follow Jesus as Lord, to respond to the Word of obedience that saves and disciples--this is the purpose of life. Jesus came to these men, shared simply his call for them to follow him, and his promise that he would make them fishers of men. He not only changed their job, he transformed their lives, and placed them on a road to travel that led to adventure, conversion, suffering, and witness. They simply heard his personal Word and responded in faith and obedience. That Word that called them to faith called them to discipleship, and through that Word, they discovered the meaning of life itself: to bring glory and praise to God alone through service to his Son, Jesus Christ. Regardless of the road we travel today, if we listen we will hear the words of our Master continuing to go forth, even in the darkest alleys and streets of the city. Jesus is alive, and by his Holy Spirit he is calling men and women to himself to live as his servants, to grasp the adventure, to allow his Spirit to make their lives over again as they obey him day by day. The disciples of old (as all true disciples do) responded immediately to God with prompt obedience, genuine passion, and true longing. Even though they had families, responsibilities, duties, and jobs, they laid everything down in order to follow the One who alone could give them what nothing else can: eternal life.

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