In the fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel we find the Holy Spirit leading Jesus in the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. During the entire forty day period Jesus eats nothing. Afterward, he’s hungry.
I bet!
The devil seizes upon the opportunity and issues a challenge: If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.
A two-pronged assault
The first prong deals with identity: If Jesus is the Son of God? (Give me a break!) A second front in the battle opens with the words: tell this stone to become bread.
Jesus is an obedient Son, doing only what he sees his Father doing. And his Father doesn’t turn rocks into bread. God can rain down manna from heaven if he likes, but he doesn’t turn stones into bread.
So how does all this translate into an assault on calling?
Every one of us has a primary calling on our life, a calling made by the Caller of all humanity. A calling to come home to the God and Father of us all, taking our place as loving, obedient sons and daughters. A call issued through Jesus Christ’s, “Follow me!” Once this primary call has been heeded we are led into a secondary call: we are given something to do for the Kingdom of Heaven, a unique role in God’s grand story. A specific, irreplaceable purpose by which we reflect the glory of God to the world around us.
Being who you are called to be and doing what you are called to do leads to a similar assault on your own life. Your identity is challenged, as is your calling: Who are you to think God even cares about you let alone that he has given you something special to do? Pompous! Arrogant! Prideful!
It isn’t just the devil that issues such challenges, either. The world around you is adept at crushing the dreams God has planted in your heart.
The reality of your identity and calling
The devil challenged Jesus’ identity and calling. Jesus is the Son of God and his calling was not to be self-serving but to serve as a ransom for many, the Savior of the world.
Jesus rebuffed the devil’s assault with the truth of Scripture. We do well to do likewise.
The truth is, you are his beloved child, a son, a daughter of the living God—Creator of all that is seen and all that is unseen—and you are destined for good works prepared in advance for you to do. (Eph 2:10)
Michael
Does calling play the definitive role in your life it should?
P.S. Better understand what calling is and why it is so important with our calling primer. Download it for free.