A Calling

I was thinking today about people are "called" to serve God in many different ways. Missionaries often explain their willingness to abandon the safety and security of the normal American life (which is quite possibly much more dangerous in terms of eternal security than anywhere they go) to a "calling" and spend their lives in service to those in need around the world. But I was wondering how often God calls and no one answers. It would probably be something like this: Ring.... Ring.... Ring... "Um this is Eric, I can't answer this call right now because I am too busy doing something else" .... Does God leave a voicemail, or maybe he to has noticed that people these days respond more quickly to a text message.

Anyway, with that aside, I wonder for myself, if God called me to serve in some way that didn't fit into my plan or was inconvenient (and I'm not talking about calling me to switch the kind of pop I drink or  or to really suffer and not get that iphone I've been wanting (which sadly, would probably be considered radical christianity in America)  but a call that would change my life and make me explore and encounter new things, would I listen? To use a real-life example, if God called me to go to Africa or (fill in suffering country), would I do it? If I answer truthfully, I'd have to admit, "I'm not sure." I mean I have all these plans for my life and that would not be found in any of them. Would I be willing to give all that up to follow his calling? If I didn't would it be one of those situations where I just wasn't a christian that is cut out for that kind of service, or would I be disobeying God?

In Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, he talks about "lukewarm christians" and he describes the vast majority of American Christians. The main differences being that we go to church and unbelievers don't. Our lives really don't look any different, if you look at the daily life or 5-year plan of the average christian compared to a non-christian, they wouldn't look much different. We compare ourselves to others in our church, and as long as there is someone who parties more or drives a nicer car or who's kids cuss more or whatever then we feel we are on the right track. We completely forget that the Bible tells us to examine ourselves in comparison to scripture not others around us be it our Pastor or the guy who cuts your hair.

I'll be the first to admit, that I struggle with this. I gauge the purchase of many of my material wants based on what others in my church are doing, if someone else has a nicer one (regardless of what it is) then I feel completely justified in having something similar.

I hope that I can change, I hope that I can evaluate my life based on what the BIBLE says is congruent with someone that is a follower of Jesus and not something that merely is accepted in American Christianity as "enough."