If we approach an unfenced cliff top we are aware of the danger. If we cross a busy road, we are aware of the danger. When we see a little boat struggling on a tempest tossed sea, we are aware of the danger. How is it that we can fall short of having that same sensitivity regarding the danger of not fulfilling God’s calling and purpose on our lives? God’s desire is that the life of His Son within us will impart a super sensitive spirit to the danger of letting His divine purpose slip.
When we entered into salvation, Jesus was the gateway, the Door, to our ongoing spiritual journey. Once redeemed we have eternal security in Christ Jesus, but we have much to discover regarding our birthright in Him and God’s calling and divine purpose on our lives.
Hebrews 2:1 warns us of the danger of letting things slip: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip”. The literal translation from the Greek text is lest we run out as leaking vessels. The challenging question is “Where do I leak, fall short?” May our spirit be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
Hebrews 4:1 again warns us: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it”.
What is my understanding of the call of God on my life? What is His divine purpose for each of us?
Romans 8:28 boldly declares: “And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. Each individual in the Body of Christ, His Church, are “The called”. What are we called to? According to this verse, to God’s purpose. What exactly is God’s divine purpose for us as individuals and corporately? The next verse answers this question.
Romans 8:29 “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, that He might be the firstborn of many brethren”. The calling of God on our lives is for us to come to the full stature of Christ Jesus. This is His divine purpose, (Ephesians 4:13), one with the Father in motive, thought, deed and every expression, demonstrated in a united Body, His Church.
The warnings in the verses quoted in Hebrews are for our ultimate good. God wants the best for His children, His family. After salvation, God has a standard He expects us to live by. Everything we think, do or say is measured by the standard of His Son, the life of Christ. When we fall short in the process of learning, of becoming, we learn that we have not allowed Jesus to rule in our heart. Don’t be discouraged, but let our failures become our spiritual learning curves in the school of life. Jesus had to learn obedience as the Son of man,(Hebrews 5:8), so too, must we. As we walk in humility and surrender, the life of Jesus will flow out of us unhindered and as natural as breathing.
Predestination does not just apply to salvation, but also to God’s divine purpose for our lives. Once we have entered into salvation, we have the full potential in God’s predestination, for Christ in us, to come to full stature. It does not happen overnight. It can take a life time of the Holy Spirit faithfully leading, directing and correcting us in loving discipline to be conformed to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (Ephesians 4:13).
I can limit this divine process by allowing my unsanctified flesh to manifest in self rule, or I can hasten the work by staying, humble, easily entreated and obedient to the Lord. God’s sovereignty gloves human responsibility. Looking at life through God’s perspective: What MUST God do because I cannot? What MUST I do in responsibility and obedience, that God wont do? As the scripture warns, I must give the more earnest heed to not fall short. Walking humbly with God and my fellow men keeps me on track. Humility is always key, pride comes before a fall.
It is a sobering thought that not all Believers will come to full stature in Christ on their earthly journey. Salvation gives us eternal security in Jesus and our passport into heaven, but our wrong choices in daily life can prevent God’s divine purpose being fulfilled in His Son reaching full stature in us. Everything has been done from God’s side, Calvary has made a way. My responsibility is to walk in that way, allowing Jesus full control of my life. I gave up the right to myself when I entered into salvation, but so often I take those rights back, demanding my way instead of God’s.
Galatians 2:20 declares “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.
My rights were nailed to Christ’s cross with my sin. The only right I now have is to eat from the tree of life, Jesus Christ. This is not a penance but an abundant joy produced from a delight to do God’s will – the evidence of Christ in me, the hope of glory! The life of Another given the liberty of reigning and ruling my heart.
The apostle, Paul, understood his calling, which is also ours. His desire was to know Jesus Christ, “and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings……Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect, if that I may apprehend that for which I am also apprehended of Christ Jesus……..forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to the things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 3: 10-14.
Do you see your calling brothers and sisters, family of God? Let us encourage one another to press on toward the goal expressed above. Satan continues his works of confusion and division, but our Almighty God’s plans will not be thwarted, nor will the Father’s love be denied.
Let us stand together, united in His calling and divine purpose for our lives.
