Called or Adventurer?



It is a great thing to have a zeal to follow God to the ends of the earth. It is equally as great to follow God in the mundane of the here and now. More people are called to the latter than the former. I remember when Chuck Hall, the President of World Indigenous Missions, left our church in Valdosta, Georgia for his first assignment as a missionary in Mexico. He was so thrilled to get on with his adventure in the Lord. He and his family did a fabulous job in Mexico. I vividly remember talking with him a number of years later as he was preparing to return to Mexico from intinerating in the U.S. He sat in my office and said, "years ago when I first left for the field I went on 90% zeal and 10% obedience. Today I go back on 90% obedience and 10% zeal." I suspect that it was at this point that the Lord received pure worship.



We live in a day where we are told that the average interest level can only be held for a short period of time. Because of this some are attracted to the adventure of traveling the globe in the name of Christ. This must be examined all along the way. "Why am I doing what I am doing"? Am I called to be doing this or am I addicted to adventure?" You might ask, "what is the harm in doing this? I am doing only good things." First, a person functioning in the place of the called who is not called, is a person taking the billet of the one who is called. They are actually stealing from the one who should be there. They are also hindering the discovery of their own destiny. There are those called to missionary service overseas and there are those called to the school house, the factory and the hospital. All are missionaries or sent ones for the sake of the Gospel. It is that calling that will empower them for the long haul. The person who goes "for a season", loses interest and comes home, is not a called one but an adventurer. The calling of the Lord is inescapable. The function and location may change but the call is without repentance. This is not intended as a rebuke but an awakening to honesty and faithfulness in day to day obedience.