2Timothy 1:9 - Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
God has saved us, that is, He has rescued us, delivered us, and brought us into a place of safety. Thank you, Lord, for this salvation. God is the original ‘Search and Rescue’ team; He is ever seeking and ever desiring to rescue people from danger and destruction and to bring them to a place of protection and wellbeing. It is impossible to rescue those who don’t believe that they need rescuing; so our first prayer for all those who do not know the Lord would be one that would open their eyes to the vital need that they have. We do not save or rescue ourselves, in fact, if you were in a tight situation and you got yourself out of it, you would never refer to that as being rescued; you may instead boast of how you got out of that hazardous place by your own strength and ingenuity. Being rescued implies a Rescuer, a Saviour; someone other than yourself and someone stronger than yourself who has come alongside of you to help.
Not only has God saved us but He has also called us; He has spoken and voiced His desire for us to respond to the call and come to Him. Years ago, as children, playing in the orchards behind our house, we would hear the call to dinner. Once the call was given it was then incumbent upon us to respond and to come and seat ourselves at the table. If we went hungry because we did not respond to the invitation that could never be our parents fault. A call is something that another must initiate; we can never call ourselves. If you were informed at the office that you have a call holding on the line, at the very least it would be rude not to answer the call. It may also be very foolish because the one who is calling could be a person of great wealth and ready to purchase your wares. These examples of earthly calls pale in comparison to the Heavenly call; God, Himself, has called us, and that call is a call to fellowship and partnership with Him. It is also a call to holiness, which is a life set apart for use by Him. It is a sacred calling. It is a special calling. Indeed it is a noble calling.
I once heard someone describe the tour that they took through a museum where they were shown Abraham Lincoln’s desk and office paraphernalia. The curator of the museum informed the visitors that the artefacts were extremely valuable and even the pen of Abraham Lincoln was worth a vast amount of money. Granted, the pen was simply an ordinary pen, it was not made of gold or special and rare jewels. It was not valuable because of the pen itself, it was valuable and even priceless because of the one who used it. The call of God is a call to be used by Him, to become an instrument of blessing in His hands. In the light of who is using the instrument, His call adds a great deal of value to our lives.
The idea of a call or a calling needs to be scripturally re-examined. We have often heard it used in reference to those who are ordained ministers or to those who have a full time job in ministry type work; indeed they do have a calling. However the Scripture is very clear that all people are called. If we believe that He has saved us, all of us, then we must likewise believe that He has called us, all of us. All people have a unique and essential calling. Just as the members of our bodies do not all have the same function, yet all are absolutely designed with a purpose that another cannot fulfil.
God initiated a relationship with us; He made the first move; He pursued us. The reason that He pursued us was not because we had an amazing track record of impeccable living, or that we had so much to offer; No! His call was not according to our works. None of our good works would qualify us and equally so, none of our sinful works could disqualify us. It was not because of our actions or our efforts, it was initiated because He had a purpose for us and He wanted to instil His destiny in our lives. He called us, He chose us, He had a plan. God had a purpose for each one of us, He intended for us to enjoy great fulfilment and a life of accomplishment and satisfaction by aligning ourselves with His purpose. However, He also foreknew that we would not naturally or, automatically walk in that purpose so He ensured that we also have His grace which empowers and enables us to follow His purpose and plan. God’s grace is too vast to define but one aspect of it is His willingness to use His resources on our behalf regardless of our personal merit.
All of this; His salvation, His calling, His purpose and His grace was all given to us before the world began. God in His perfect foreknowledge saw that mankind would fall and would need redemption. Even before there was a problem God provided the answer, in fact, there is no problem that His answer won’t meet. It was all decided upon ages ago; before the creation of man; before the rebellion of man; it was given freely to all of us in the person of His Son; it was given to us in Christ Jesus. Thank you, Father God, for the origin of the plan. Thank you, Jesus, for the execution of the plan and thank you, Holy Spirit, for the unveiling of the plan. Oh! What purpose we have and what grace we’ve been given!
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