Several years back I went into a local restaurant with an old and dear friend in Hawaii. Taking our seats, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and placed it, screen-down, on the table in front of me. Within moments the waiter appeared, looked me in the eye, and informed me, “I’m sorry, sir, but in this restaurant, we don’t allow cell phones to be seen. You’ll have to put that away.” Ha! Busted! It was a momentary embarrassment, but a beautiful policy and lesson!

Two nights ago, in another restaurant I walked past a table of eight diners. Six of them were staring at cell phones. How sad and demeaning to think that the image-bearers of God can sit face to face with each other and find more interest in screens and pixels.

We disciples of Jesus must do better; we must establish a higher, more beautiful culture. One of the very first names given to God in the Old Testament is El Roi, “The God who sees.” (Genesis 16:13). Certainly He sees all things, but he is clearly captivated by the sight of His own image in the face of his sons and daughters. “Turning toward the woman, Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do you SEE this woman?’” (Luke 7:44). I like that. Fussy, distracted Simon saw only an embarrassment at his dinner party, but Jesus was utterly enchanted by the street woman in front of him.

Often it’s the small things that set the disciples of Jesus apart as a “city on a hill”: our priorities, our focus, and the things that take our attention. At this moment, and the next, the most important thing in the world is that person standing right in front of me. Jesus sees her. Do I? Do you?

Skye Jethani tells us in his wonderful book, Futureville that every Christian has three callings: The “highest call”,  the “common call”, and the “vocational call.”  It’s an idea that brings welcome clarification to me, especially as we begin the new year. 

Our Highest Call is the calling to Jesus.  Human were specifically designed to function in a living relationship with Him.  “In Him was life, and the life was the light of man.” (John 1:4)  To attempt life apart from Jesus is an empty, dead-end street of frustration no different than trying to drive a car without gas.  The highest call is where everything begins, it’s where we discover our true personality and purpose for getting out of bed in the morning.

The Common Call: Once reconnected with the Source of life the common mission of every disciple is to apprentice himself to Jesus and become like him in every way.  This is our call to love our neighbor, to forgive our enemies, to pray and feed the poor, to serve one another and to bring glory to God in all things.  All believers have these first two callings in common.

But finally we have the Vocational Call:  This is where God reveals and develops His unique gifts and contributions in us to serve the world around us.  I’m a musician and a teacher. But as I write this post there’s a friend across the room who is gifted in business and hospitality.  He manages this little coffeeshop, makes each person feel like the most important person in the world and serves his customers with joy.  Others who come here are nurses, construction workers, truck drivers, artists, policemen, and sanitation workers.  The Kingdom needs every one of these vocations because each one brings order, beauty and abundance to the world around us.  And here is the mind-blowing thing about vocations:  They matter!  Where would we be if the cooks, the truck drivers, the plumbers and the musicians disappeared from among us?  In the Kingdom everyone and everything matters!

May you experience a fresh understanding of God’s calling in your life as we enter 2019. 

PS: Futureville is about the Kingdom.  It’s a great read and covers much more than just calling and vocation.

One of my prayers for 2017 is that I will grow in the area of discernment. All the “fake news” talk we’ve been hearing about lately isn’t really news for many of us. We’ve known about partisan sites, conspiracy sites, and sensationalist sites forever, but the problem lies in spotting them when they support the very same ideas that I hold so dear. So as one who deeply cares about Truth I’ve been asking God for the spiritual gift of discernment.  How amazing it would be to clearly hear the Spirit whisper, “No son… don’t fall for that. It’s a lie”.

I’m also learning that Truth seldom resides at the extremes. C.S. Lewis says, “The Devil sends lies into the world by pairs”, and of course he does it to divide people and communities. The “free will” versus “God’s sovereignty” debate has kept the church tied in knots for centuries.  But what about today’s “liberalism” versus “conservatism” debate?  Does the Truth reside at the extreme end of either of those worldviews?  Lewis suggests that the Truth often lies in the tension of the middle.  It’s not that God is mushy in regard to Truth, but he certainly is neither a political conservative nor a liberal.  He is the solid reality behind our foggy ideas.

A second prayer commanding my attention is that I will become a peacemaker. In a world so fractured by anger, accusations and finger-pointing we Believers are called to be agents of peace, looking for opportunities to bring healing and grace into each situation. Saint Francis captured it flawlessly in the prayer we’ve treasured for centuries:

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.”