It’s been a hard few weeks. It’s been an even harder few weeks for a family I know who lost one of their own. I’ve always heard it said that death brings things into perspective. It’s a cliché that’s more true than any of us would like it to be. For those of you who don’t know me, I helped co-officiate a funeral of a former student of mine that I had ministered to for four years. It hurt and it was as hard to officiate as much as it hurt. If you’ve read the Eulogy you’ll know that this kid (Matt) was someone I cared very much about and someone I invested a lot of time in.
Switching it up a bit, our high school ministry had winter retreat a week ago and something God-sized happened Saturday night. There isn’t a doubt that the Holy Spirit was moving and in that movement, God spoke to me. Not an audible speaking but a visual speaking of sorts. We had entered a time of worship by praying and singing. As we started this, I could see Matt’s face on every single student that was there, 150+. I didn’t physically see his face on students but my heart and mind saw it.
For the last six months, I’ve been distracted trying to figure out calling but in that moment it became very clear to me what my calling and gifting is. We’re all called to represent Jesus to a broken world, to live out our resurrection before it happens, to make disciples. We’re called to become more like Jesus every day and help others do the same. We all share the same calling.
Gifting, it’s a different story. While we all share the same calling, God has gifted each of us in different ways. Back to the funeral and back to Saturday night at winter retreat; it’s become clear to me that God has gifted me to walk as a student pastor (under various titles, life group leader, coach, etc) the last decade of my life. It’s something I’ve been actively engaged in for a majority of my walk with Christ. It’s something I continue to see myself engaged in for years to come.
Read Ephesians 4:1-16 for more.
How has God gifted you to live out our shared calling?
