Get Your Pretense On!

Chapter 5: Represent Strong! • 117

A clear example of this principle is Paul’s call on the Damascus Road, cited in Acts 9. The Lord told Ananias to go to Paul and confirm the commission to him, and to say: But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ~ Acts 9.15-16 When Paul recounted his own call by the Lord years later, he testified that his original call included the discovery of the person who stopped him, “Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 22.8). Afterwards, Paul asked the Lord what he would have him do, and the Lord said “Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”(Acts 22.10-11). If you are a Christ follower, you should know that God has called you to represent Christ and his Kingdom right where you are, where you live and work. You don’t need a Damascus Road experience to be called by God. The Lord has called every believer to himself (Rom. 8.28-30), and that calling is secure and certain (Rom. 11.29). We have been called to eternal life (1 Tim. 6.12), to participate in a “heavenly calling” (Heb. 3.1), and are called to press toward the mark of the prize for the high calling in Christ (Phil. 3.12-14). God has a role for you to play in his plan, and he will reveal that to you as you walk daily with him. Each of us has been given a distinct part to play in God’s work, often revealed in the roles that he has granted us to play. We are children and parents, we are spouses and siblings, we are co workers and associates, and we are bosses and followers. Each of us is called to particular roles and responsibilities, entrusted