Calling & purpose
Additional resources
Books
The Disciple: A Calling to be Christlike - John Stott
This is a fairly short book that deals with the broader issues of living as a follower of Jesus which is helpful for this topic. Even more relevant and helpful is an excellent chapter in this book that clearly explores the issues of purpose, calling and guidance from a Biblical perspective.
The Call - Os Guinness
This book explores a number of important questions around purpose and calling such as: Why am I here? What is God's call in my life? How should God's calling affect my career, my plans for the future, and my concepts of success? It also explores specific calling and the journey of hearing and heeding that call.
The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
A very popular book that has sold over 50 million copies and has been translated into 85 languages including Chinese. It is written as a guide to explore over 40 days what is God’s purpose for my life.
Guidance and the Voice of God - Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne
This book explores questions of guidance and direction such as: How do I know what God wants me to do? How can I make decisions which are in line with his will? If God still speaks, will I recognize his voice?
True Discipleship- William MacDonald
Articles
Discovering God's Purpose for your Life (CS Lewis Institute)
Calling & Vocation (Overview) (Theology of Work Project)
Vocation and the Call to Discipleship (The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture)
Video
What Is the Will of God and How Do We Know it? – John Piper
Audio
Quotes for reflection
What do you think about these quotes? Are they helpful? Are they saying what the Bible says?
Calling and purpose quotes
“The chief end [purpose] of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
(from the Westminster Confession of Faith - a statement of faith written by leaders of the Anglican Church in 1646)
“To know Christ and to make Him known.”
(a statement of purpose of some Christian churches and organisations)
"Calling is not just for certain people. Every believer has a calling in at least three areas of his or her life: calling to character or personal holiness (Eph. 1:4), calling to relationship with God (Eph. 1:5), and calling to ministry—a unique contribution to God’s kingdom (Eph. 2:10)."
Keith Webb, Coaching in Ministry: How Busy Church Leaders Can Multiply Their Ministry Impact
“To make the choice of career or profession on selfish grounds, without a true sense of calling, is probably the greatest single sin any young person can commit, for it is the deliberate withdrawal from allegiance to God of the greatest part of time and strength.”
Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life
"For the Christian, heaven is not a goal; it is a destination. The goal is that “Christ be formed in you” to use the words of the apostle Paul (Galatians 4:19). To the Romans, he declares, ‘Those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son” (8:29). And to the Corinthians, he says, “All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3:18). Thus, the daring goal of the Christian life could be summarized as our being formed, conformed, and transformed into the image of Jesus Christ."
Dallas Willard, Christianity Today, Feb 5, 1996
“I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure.”
Eric H. Liddell, “Chariots of Fire"
"Much bigger than a career, job or occupation, our unique calling will be based on our gifts and abilities, will grow out of our deepest desires, and will always involve some response to the needs of the world.”
Gordon T. Smith, Courage and Calling
Growth and practice quotes
“The path of spiritual growth in the riches of Christ is not a passive one. Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude. You have never seen people more active than those who have been set on fire by the grace of God. Paul, who perhaps understood grace better than any other mere human being, looked back at what had happened to him and said: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (I Cor. 15:10)
As to “means of grace” placed in our hands, well-directed action is the key. The disciplines of the spiritual life are simply practices that prove to be effectual in enabling us to increase the grace of God in our lives.
Dallas Willard, from Living Life to the Full, Renovare website article.
"It is critical for us to understand that the Spiritual Disciplines possess no moral rectitude or righteousness in and of themselves. They are, most definitely, not “works righteousness,” as it is sometimes said. They place us—body, mind, and spirit—before God. That is all. The results of this process are all of God, all of grace.
"The spiritual disciplines are a means of grace God uses to grow our ability to love."
Christopher A. Hall, A Different Way: Recentering the Christian Life Around Following Jesus
Questions for reflection
1. How is my purpose in life different now from before I was a Christian?
2. Do I have a clear sense of God's purpose and calling for my life? If yes, what is it? Do I feel the need for any changes in my life right now?
3. What is meant by calling or vocation? How is it used in Christian and non-Christian circles? What have you learned that supports or goes against these views?
4. What does it mean to glorify God? How do we do that?
It is sometimes said that our Christian calling and purpose is to “follow Jesus”. That might have been clear for the first disciples but what does it look like in real life for us today?
6. From the things that we have explored as part of our calling (knowing God, growing in Christlikeness, serving and taking the good news to people) – which of those do you have the strongest sense of calling about?
7. From the things that we have explored as part of our calling (knowing God, growing in Christlikeness, serving and taking the good news to people) are there any that you feel uncertain about either what it is or how you can do it?
8. Is it hard for you to commit to following God’s purpose for your life? What makes it easier or harder?
9. How does knowing who you are help you to know your calling and purpose?
10. How can you begin to follow God’s purpose for your life if you don’t know what exactly it is?
11. What does direction and leading from the Holy Spirit look like? How do we know it is God’s Spirit?
12. Who are the best people to ask guidance from? What qualities are we looking for in them?
13. Does anyone have a story of how God has given them a sense of calling and purpose in what they are doing at work or in other things they do?
14. How much is our passion for something a sign of God’s calling and purpose for our life?
Activities
Try writing your own personal statement of calling or purpose. Here are some examples from others to help get you started:
“To leave foot prints in the hearts of God-hungry leaders who multiply”
“Know Him. Serve Him. Enjoy Him”
“I will be a Christian Husband, Family Man, and Businessman. I will use every resource God provides me to carry out His work on earth as set forth below.”