THE CALLED

“Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart to proclaim the gospel of God.” –Romans 1:1

Paul, “called to be an apostle,” wrote to those who had “been called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Rm 1:6) and who had been “called to holiness, grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rm 1:7). The New Testament Greek word for “church” is “ekklesia,” which literally means “called out.” Consequently, we, as members of Christ’s Church, must “live a life worthy” of our calling (Eph 4:1) in the “one hope given all of [us] by [our] call” (Eph 4:4).

The Lord calls our names (Is 43:1), and the meaning of life is to answer the call. He calls us to deny our very selves, take up the cross each day, and be His disciples (Lk 9:23), who, in turn, make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). He calls us to be children who love and honor their parents, to be brothers and sisters in Christ, to be single for His kingdom (Mt 19:12), to be married and lay persons open to life, letting our light shine in secular society (Mt 5:14ff), etc. The Lord calls us in many ways. He calls us to lives of communion and love. Finally, He calls us, through our deaths or His final coming, to come home to our Father in heaven. He calls us to eternal life and love.

We are the called. This is our identity and the meaning of our lives. Live a life worthy of your calling (Eph 4:1).

PRAYER: Father, thank You for calling me out of the world and calling me home to You in heaven.

PROMISE: “Through Him we have been favored with apostleship, that we may spread His name and bring to obedient faith all the Gentiles.” –Rm 1:5

PRAISE: Robert’s making the sign of the cross at a restaurant led to a person returning to the Church.