My favorite biblical character is the prophet Jeremiah, so much so that I named my firstborn after him. What I like about Jeremiah is how he lives with tension in his life. The tension is this: he is clearly Called by God but he just as clearly would prefer to hang up the phone (and probably run away). But he doesn't. Instead, he responds (albeit, reluctantly) and answers that Call, spending the rest of his life faithfully serving God and the people of God.
In my own life I resonate with Jeremiah's tension. I know God has indeed Called me to ministry, but I also know that much of the time, I'd rather run the other way. So, yes, I am reluctant. But I also desire to be obedient to that Call (even if I can't always embrace it) and to serve God and the people of God faithfully, just like Jeremiah.
Here's a quote from Eugene Peterson's book, The Contemplative Pastor, that helps to explain:
"We are going to ordain you to this ministry, and we want your vow that you will stick to it. This is not a temporary job assignment but a way of life that we need lived out in our community...With these vows of ordination we are lashing you to the mast of Word and sacrament so you will be unable to respond to the siren voices...we want you to give us help."
I'll do the best I can; reluctantly, but faithfully.
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1 comment:
(As we all know Anonymous was a woman)
It's not the reluctance that God judges by but the willingness in spite of it. May he bless your commitment. I do understand that God does not call us to easy things but to important ones. I too feel called and would sometimes like to hang up. But that as you know is not an option.
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