My daughter is grown up now, but when she was a teenager and the phone rang at our house (before everyone had a cell phone), no one except Kellie made a move to answer it. First of all, only an Olympic caliber athlete could get to the phone before she did. Secondly, even if someone could outrace her, the caller would invariably ask, “Is Kellie there?” The rest of the family eventually became desensitized to the sound of a ringing phone.
Sometimes the same thing happens in our church family. Most everyone will agree that God calls us regularly. He called us to be His children when we were baptized. He calls us to share with others our joy in His redemptive love through Jesus Christ. He calls us to serve Him and those are a part of our lives.
But how many of us become desensitized to those calls from God? The question is answered when the nominating committee of our church can’t find candidates willing to fill volunteer positions or no one offers to help with church work days or teach Bible class or Sunday School.
Unfortunately, it is too easy for people to sit back and wait for someone else to answer the call. We say to ourselves, “The church has done well to this point without my participation…the church pays its bills even though I don’t contribute regularly…someone better qualified than me can fill the position.” What we don’t realize is that God is calling us person to person.
One final thought – what if we made the first move? Instead of waiting for God to call us, why couldn’t we take the initiative and reach out to Him in prayer, asking Him how He wants us to serve? God promised in Isaiah 65:24, “Before they call, I will answer. While they are speaking, I will hear.” If you are willing to contact Him, He could be answering your call right now.