I’ve been drafted

Becoming a Christian is something like being drafted or conscripted into the army. Probably the biggest difference is that God’s army has no draft dodgers.

Instead of drafted or conscripted, the Bible uses the term “called” for those God draws to Himself. While human choice plays a part, I’ve known people who were “called” and responded without much choice in the matter. One of them told me that when God called her to move to the front of the tent and receive Christ (it happened in a church camp), she resisted so much that she grabbed the chair in front of her and almost tipped the man off who sat on it. She had no intention of going, but the call was stronger than her resistance.

The words “called” and “calling” are used throughout the New Testament. One of them is in the verse that guides my life:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

“The called” are those who have experienced the sovereign, regenerating work of God in their hearts and been brought to new life in Christ. Without this, no one can rightly call themselves a Christian. As verse 29 says, each believer is chosen and redeemed by God and securely predestined as His children. The goal for a called person is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

My faith is essential to that calling, but God had to initiate the process. His calling preceded my choice, but also made that choice possible and effective. John 6:65 says that, “No one can come to Me [Christ] unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

This call happened once. I am now in God’s army. However, it also continues. I am aware of Him calling me every day. He motivates me to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). This does not mean that I work toward being His child, but like a drafted soldier, I am daily called to learn better ways of acting like one.

My current challenge is listening. I’m like a soldier who takes orders only from his superior officer and do only as my Lord commands me. Yet I also realize that calling is not about careers or occupations. As a well-known fiction writer once said, my calling is not about what I choose to do with my life, but that I love God and take orders from Him. She said, “Today you might be called to write, but tomorrow He may ask you to do something else.”

A soldier is a soldier, but a Christian can be asked to wear many hats. Not only that, learning to listen to Jesus is also unlike the experience of a soldier. He hears the loud barking orders of his sergeant, but the Lord speaks softly and gives gentle nudges. He does not insist that I jump when He shouts. Instead, if I refuse His prompting, He stands back and lets me find out by the consequences that I should have listened.