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Calling: Ready, Aim, Miss - The Hard Parts About Call and Response

Published: April 13, 2021

Calling: Ready, Aim, Miss - The Hard Parts About Call and ResponseAs a child, Samantha Paulin 15 learned that to be a Christian, she needed to discern and then follow Jesus call, but she couldnt picture what this looked like. She gained clarity later at Greenville College where she learned the true value of following Christ.

It was and still is through the wisdom and guidance of the GC faculty that I have come to better understand Jesus calling, she reflects. Here, she recounts whats hard about listening and obeying.

Hard Part #1 Getting in the Ballpark - Before Greenville, I easily became anxious about the topics of vocation and the Lords will for my lifeanxious about calling. I was unsure of what to pray for and how to both listen and obey.

Hard Part #2: Accepting the Tension - It was while at Greenville that I learned as Christians we are called to live in the tension of the already but not yet time, as we are already in the Lords kingdom, but do not yet see it in its glory; in essence it is time spent along the path of sanctification.

Hard Part #3 Listening - I was also taught that following the call of Jesus meant learning the difficult task of listening. Listening, I found, was best done through journeying with others in community, which is a difficult task in and of itself.

Hard Part #4 Practice - Upon graduation, instead of turning to my community and stepping further onto the path of sanctification, I became anxious and unsure of the next step and lost sight of the calling of Jesus. I rushed off to the city of Nashville to escape the hard task of truly listening and obeying, both to God and the wisdom of those in my community. I feared living in this tension that I had grown to understand while at school. I accomplished the easy task of turning my back to the call of Jesus.

The Gift and Grace of Community

The community that had so encouraged my spiritual maturation continued to pursue me. By the grace of God and the words of truth and wisdom spoken by those from the Greenville community, I have come to better hear and obey Jesus call:

  • to build and foster community here in Nashville,
  • to step out in faith and embrace the Lords gift of counseling,
  • to acknowledge that He has placed in me a desire to further grow in knowledge of religion and counseling in a community similar to the one I experienced at Greenville.

Because of the community fostered at Greenville College, I have come to hold firmly to the call of Jesus to journey on the path of sanctification, grow in the disciplines of listening and obeying, and live and grow with others in community.

Go here to share your story about calling.

Calling: Ready, Aim, Miss - The Hard Parts About Call and Response

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