IF I WERE CALLED
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

© by Joyce C. Lock

If  I  were  called  to  teach, 
I'd  give  it  my  best.

If  I  were  called  to preach, 
I'd  better  pass  the  test.

If  I  were  called  to  reach, 
I'd  do  it  with  much  zest.

If  I  were  called  to  each, 
I'd  surely  need  some  rest.
Mt.11:29b

We often hold high expectations for our spiritual leaders (as does God) to teach, minister, give guidance and direction, to be the example, live what they preach, and to be available, willing, and able to meet our need.  We're truly blessed when we have such a person in our life.       Though were we to multiply our need by the entire membership of our church, we'd see that our expectation is somewhere between unrealistic and nearly impossible.  Leadership often find themselves between a rock and a hard place as, even for the most devoted of servants, there aren't enough hours in a day.

What a good thing it would be were we to give something in return, to volunteer services to make their load easier, to not lean on them but upon God, to only ask for help when we can't find resolve, and to try to become more like the expectations we have for our leaders.       Perhaps then we could begin impacting our world for Christ while allowing our leaders the same privileges we have ... to have a family and a life.

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.