GPS
Our Calling
GPS—(G) gifts and (P) passions in (S) service of God’s purposes. Each of us has a calling in the Kingdom of God; and getting a handle on it is like having our own GPS to navigate life from a Kingdom perspective. Our calling is that for which we are innately gifted and intensely passionate. Whether it’s to involve ourselves in: the fight against human trafficking; rising suicide rates; the multi-trillion dollar mental health crisis; textbooks yet to be written from a Christian perspective; fashion which cries for true beauty; businesses which lack ethics; or a child who need loving parenting—all such work calls for good and godly services offered through the collective callings of God’s people. Joining in on God’s Kingdom work means carefully and prayerfully discerning our gifts and passions to place them in service of God’s purposes. Let me briefly touch on each of three key components—gifts, passions, and serving God’s purposes—beginning with gifts.
What is Our GPS?
A gift, as regards Christian calling, can be defined as follows: an inborn capacity to bring about Kingdom ends (i.e., the purposes of God) and bring out Kingdom values (i.e., truth, goodness, and beauty)—the exercise of which brings others joy. Gifts are inborn capacities and abilities that we can use to bless and serve others.
We could define passions simply as: a joyful yet sacrificial commitment to exercise one’s gifts. Our passions: dominate our thought-life; drive us to work; inspire us to dream; make us wish things were different; keep us awake; wake us up; help us wait; cause us to pray; get us talking as well as draw us into silent pondering; they stir our souls. In discerning our deepest passions, it may be helpful to ask questions like: What inspires me to dream? What makes me wish things were different? What keeps me awake? Or wakes me up? What do I love to pray and/or talk about? What upsets me because it upsets God? What aspects of or arenas within this good but fallen world could be served with more goodness or truth or beauty? If I could so contribute, by God’s grace, where would I bring about the transcendentals for God’s glory and humanity’s flourishing? A key part of passion is that it involves sacrifice. Whereas desires are superficial, passions involve suffering. What we are most passionate about is that for which we’re willing to suffer.
There is a third component we must consider when discerning our calling: namely, the idea that our gifts and passions are to serve the purposes of God in our generation. Calling is about God’s purposes, not ours.We need to discern what He is doing to usher in His Kingdom, rather than merely seeking to accomplish our own set of goals to build our empire. It is about fulfilling God’s Kingdom purposes, not leaving a personal legacy. Calling is also about serving God’s purposes in our generation, rather than serving the generation. As Dr. Guinness puts it, too often the Church ends up serving not the purposes of God in our generation, but the purposes of this generation! We cater to the culture of our time, rather than faithfully follow God to fulfill His purposes.
A Couple Thoughts
Take some time to think through your gifts and passions and how you could use them to serve God’s purposes in the world. If you’re interested in reading Dr. Park’s book on calling – Calling: God’s Blueprint For Your Life – you can check it out here on Amazon! You can also check out our online course on calling – The Blueprint – by going here.
How we spend our lives matters. We could spin our wheels doing what we think leads to a fulfilling life. How much greater is it to take the whole of our lives—our greatest gifts and deepest passions—and place it in service of God’s purposes in our historical moment!
Written by Ruthanne Bigley with excerpts taken from Ch.3 of Calling: God’s Blueprint for Your Life by Richard S. Park.