The Apostle Paul wasn't trying to be a super Christian—he was just being Paul 'living called'. 'Calling' refers to living with the direction and purpose for your life provided by God. This is something relevant for all Christians, because all of us have either found, are seeking, or haven't yet realised our calling.
Paul had a calling. He knew what it was. He writes it at the start of every single one of his letters. Take, for instance, Romans chapter 1, verse 1: 'Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.' Similarly, his other letters commence with Paul stating who he is and his calling.
As a Christian in today's world I read this, and am gob-smacked by Paul's writing and his anointing—I want the same. I want to live this kind of explosive, recordable life that testifies to God's goodness long after I've gone.
I want to be called a, 'good and faithful servant' by God, but I've realised if I'm going to live like Paul I've got to stop trying to be Paul.
Live your own life
My father-in-law always says things like, 'ah well that's just Pastor Shannon being Pastor Shannon' and 'you have to let Pete be Pete.' But the funny nothingness of it is actually quite profound when we consider that in the same vein we ought to 'let Paul be Paul' and instead of trying to replicate his life, to live our own.
Paul was not writing for this big publication called, 'The Bible.' He didn't know his letters would be transcribed and included in the canon of Scripture. He didn't know he'd have his own words tattooed on people's bodies as mottos to live by or scribbled on the sneakers of modern day basketball pros.
Paul didn't know any of this and he wasn't living to make any of it happen either. He was simply living out his calling, as a servant of Jesus Christ and an apostle.
Paul was just being Paul but I'm not just being me.
I've realised in my writing, in my social media presence and identity—in what I say and tweet and write in my byline, I've been trying to be someone else, someone like Paul.
The irony is, in trying to be Paul I feel I've been less like Paul than if I just lived as me. By living as me I'd actually have more of an impact than by trying to be this big person with an important legacy.
Who I'm called to be
God takes his time revealing these things to us. He doesn't always interrupt us in the middle of our treading. Sometimes he likes us to figure it out for ourselves.
Recently, the important things in my life started to take on water while this other life, the life I felt I ought to live, was held up high.
It translated to this: a life full of appointments with people to edify them and speak life and pray for them. A 24/7 presence on social media to motivate people who followed me and needed encouragement; and myself, living and breathing by the feedback I received for my writing, buoyed by how it blessed people and helped them live with fresh purpose and conviction.
All these are great things but while I was busy making sure the rest of the world is aware there's a certain Pauline kind of guy on the Christian scene, the ones closest to me were made to wait.
While they went out to socialise and have fun I stayed home, glued to my computer to live out my perceived calling by answering tweets and posting holy photos.
While my wife went to bed without me I stayed up crafting my masterpiece sure to be a New York Times best seller, anointed by God to touch lives, but that's not my calling.
I know it isn't because—just like I believe God communicates with every other believer—he communicated my calling very early on to me, as clear as day, deep in my heart.
'You are called to be a loving husband and a great father.'
That's all. Not a New York Times best-selling author. Not a blogger on the world stage. Not Paul, but David.
What is your calling?
Isn't it time you stopped dabbling in what others have been called to do and returned to your calling?
We don't all have to be Paul to be effective in ministry. We don't have to write or preach and yet so many of us are scrambling for the pulpit, like it's the only way we'll get to Heaven, the only way we can die satisfied.
Yet, I look at my father-in-law, the man who knows better than anyone what it means to 'just be you' and his reputation goes before him as a fisher of men. How does he do it? By riding his bike every day, having a beer down the street and teaching casually a few times a week.
Last week I stepped away from the paucity of trying to be someone I'm not and started living as me. I went swimming in Portugal and ate sardines with the locals. I spent time with my wife, camping. I didn't have enough internet to keep up my Twitter presence.
I dropped the bar, but in a sense I picked up a staff.
David Luschwitz would like to pay tribute to his board shorts, which disappeared tragically last week in a raging current at a beach in Vila Nova De Milfontes, Portugal. He'd like to take this opportunity also to urge readers everywhere to remember always to tie their boardies tight before attempting to swim across a surging river.
To read more of David's writing and to hear his story head to www.davidluschwitz.com
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David's previous articles can be found at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-luschwitz.html