God is Calling. How Will You Answer?

The Anatomy of My Own Midlife Calling

Published in

The Grace Journal

6 min readDec 27, 2018

I am 56 years old. I have three (almost) grown children. My professional life has seen its most impactful days. I am immersed in midlife. I am happy. I have nothing left to prove.

And despite all this, I recently disrupted my otherwise tranquil life and entered the seminary. Yes, that kind of school, where students commit their lives to learning more about God…

Yep, as crazy as it seems to even write, I am answering a call, God’s call. I’m returning to academia to embrace a rigorous, exacting curriculum, roughly thirty years after my last academic pursuit, at a point when my life is on a much different trajectory than it was so many years ago when I was chasing more youthful aspirations. More on that later…

But first, what does it even mean to answer a call?

Have you ever thought about this oft-used, rather nebulous term? As I put pen to paper for this story, I began to think about what a genuine calling actually is. One need only peruse the pages of personal interest magazines, or watch slick infomercials aimed at inspiring viewership, to see that everyone with a fleeting passion seems to have a calling.

A fair amount of consideration, prayer, and reflection has illuminated some basic truths about this divine concept. And in the final analysis, I have come to realize two fundamental principles about being called that may challenge your thinking on this topic.

First, contrary to most traditional thinking, God’s call is a universal, one-size-fits-all proposition for believers. Secondly, and as it relates to that call, each of us is granted significant latitude in how we answer that call.

A universal call for all believers

When we boil it all down, as Christians we really only have one calling. And as much as each of us might desire to have our own, unique and tailored calling, the truth is that we all share a single, over-riding call.

In Scripture, the term associated with being called is most often associated with being called to Christ. The great Apostle Paul wrote extensively about being called, and there are illuminating examples in his letters. The best example of this divine calling can be seen in Romans 8:28, which states, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

We know that God has a great desire to have a relationship with us. So, this singular, overarching and universal calling is inviting us to embrace Jesus in faith and love. It is important to understand that this love can only happen if we make a commitment to actually get to know Jesus.

Answering the call

Acknowledging that our ultimate calling is about growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are now prepared to explore ways to answer that call. It seems clear to me that we should not answer our calling by following our own personal dreams and aspirations. While doing so might at first seem temporarily uplifting, my own experience tells me that our own dreams many times do not line up with Christ’s plan for us.

Instead, we should allow ourselves to grow in Christ-likeness (i.e., think “what would Jesus do”), at every opportunity. The cool thing about answering God’s call is that we are given great latitude in choosing the path to which we’re being drawn, as long as we are growing in Christ. Writer Pat Buckley explained it so elegantly when she said, “I believe that life is a journey towards God, and that no one has the right to insist that you go a certain road.”

God gives us free-will, and most importantly, giftings in how we grow in Christ-likeness. My own go-to passage which beautifully illuminates how this all works is found in Romans 12:6–8 which says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is … serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” I love that Scripture says to identify the work you feel drawn, or even compelled to do, and just do it.

Better late than never

“Just doing it” might be easy for some, but for others, including myself, there may be a variety of factors holding us back from answering God’s call. What is holding us back, and I hear this all the time, is the feeling that life has passed us by, that we are so ingrained in our pattern of living that we can’t figure out how to reengineer ourselves to enable God’s calling. One of my own spiritual mentors, Mr. Ed Nelson, led a weekly men’s bible study well into his 90’s. When his students would quip that they were in a season of life that may not be conducive to serving, Ed was fond of saying, “If you ain’t dead, you ain’t done.”

Likewise, others may allow paralysis to set in at the mere thought of embarking on such a transformational spiritual journey. Sometimes, as opposed to just doing it, we tend to think about something just long enough until it eventually evaporates from our consciousness.

Abraham Lincoln, who suffered from this type of analysis paralysis, was fond of saying, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

I have come to realize that regardless of our season of life, regardless of circumstance, our axe is plenty sharp to answer God’s call, so it is time to stop sharpening it, and just do it.

My own answer

So, back to God’s calling in my life. And my answer.

Over the last eight years, God has been calling me. He has been calling me to embrace him in faith and in love. In my own time, and in my own way, I began a spiritual journey to get to know his son Jesus a little bit better. Through a variety of circumstances, some pleasant, some bitter, I have grown in Christ. I have answered that call, admittedly after sharpening the axe for over 50 years, but I have still decided to answer that call.

At the ripe young age of 56, I am attending seminary to obtain a Masters Degree in Theology and Urban Ministry. At the same time, I continue to work in ministry with like-minded Christians who are also answering the call.

Why urban ministry, you may ask?

My answer to God’s call is to shine a small ray of hope in the lives of those in my city who are forgotten and vulnerable, those enveloped by the crushing pain and suffering associated with living on the edge.