Obedience to Your Calling, 1 Corinthians 1:17a

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect."

     What has God called you to do? It is important that we pray and ask God what we are to be doing with our lives, whether that be full time ministry, evangelism, street witnessing, working a regular 9 to 5 job, or being a missionary in a foreign land. No one calling is any better in God's sight than any other, though we as humans tend to think this is so. We must not look upon the callings and giftings of another person and envy them, wishing that we somehow could have such things as they because we deem them more spiritual somehow than ourselves because of that gift or calling.
     It seems a perfectly good thing to baptize people, and so it is. So why does Paul say that Christ did not send him to baptize? Is he putting down the act of baptism? Not at all. He is simply stating that Jesus Christ had not called him to baptize, but to preach the gospel. People will come to you and state a need, such as a need to be baptized. They will come to you and say that this needs to be done, and that needs to be done, asking for your help and contribution. But if we were to take on every task brought to us, if we were to try and meet every need made known to us, we would surely, in no time, wear ourselves out! Jesus has not called us to meet every need, but to be obedient to what He alone is calling us to do.

     This idea was first related to me at a Tuesday night Bible study, and it was a totally freeing and liberating experience. I hadn't really had too much trouble with people pouring out burdens upon me, but I did have trouble with a lot of confusion and condemnation when it came to evangelizing and sharing my faith with others. In my mind I reasoned, "everyone needs the gospel, therefore since I know the gospel, and they don't, I should make every effort to share it with them." And this is true to some extent. We should realize that those around us are lost and perishing and desire for them to be saved. We should be willing and open to sharing with them. But we can't share Christ in our flesh, by "the wisdom of words," as Paul states, "lest the cross of Christ be made of no effect."
     It is of no effect if we try to share in our own efforts, simply looking around us and seeing a need and trying to meet it. We need to act in obedience, in faith and filled with the Holy Spirit, praying always, asking the Lord what He wants us to do and who He wants us to share with. He knows their hearts, their personalities, their needs better than we could ever know them, and He knows our personalities and our giftings and who we could best be used to minister to. Being available and willing is essential, but being available and willing doesn't equal calling. And if God doesn't call you to share with someone, He never said you couldn't pray for them!

     Living in bondage to the burden of having to meet every need I am made aware of was absolutely crippling. I would go to pray before bed, and I would be praying for one family member's salvation, but thinking of that one person brought to rememberance another person, which brought to rememberance another person, etc. etc., to the point that I was too exhausted to even pray at night and dreaded even doing so because I knew I could be there for hours praying for every single person I ever met or came in contact with, and even people I didn't even know. But His burden is light, and His yoke is easy-- This is not of Christ, to be burdened to exhaustion by prayer. He is not hovering above you waiting to chastize you if you forget to pray for someone or think of a person but don't pray for them. We need only to pray for those people whom He places on our hearts-- It's not a legalistic activity, but communing with our beloved Savior.
     Condemnation would also come when I could, feesibly, speak with a person about the love of Christ and yet didn't. And I mean feesibly in that there was enough time to share, that the person was willing to conversate with me, and that I could have just decided to share the gospel with them-- but yet didn't (and didn't because I didn't feel compelled or necessarily led to). When I would not share the gospel I would get the feeling that I was too shy, that I missed an opportunity, that I was backsliding, that I was too concerned about myself to share a small bit of information that could save a person from eternal destruction-- and who am I to withhold such information from them, who am I to put my needs and comfort above the greatest need of all: salvation? But all this is the lies of the enemy.
     If we are right before God, that is, if we are in fellowship with Him, praying and reading our Bible, not in sin, not hardening our hearts or being disobedient to Him, then it is safe to say that we are not backsliding, not being horribly selfish or over concerned with our own comforts and desires. If we are right with God, our heart is going to be to share with people-- And if we are, every moment, aware that those around us need the love of Christ and God's free gift of salvation-- if we are aware of this constantly and consistently, and are willing to be used of God, then not sharing with someone is not a sin, it is not any fault of your own, but it was that you were not called by Christ to do so. You are under no obligation to do anything Jesus doesn't call you to do. In fact, we ought not do anything He hasn't called us to do, for our own good and the good of His kingdom.

     And this is what Paul is saying. He was not called to baptize, but to preach the gospel. And therefore he didn't baptize, but preached the gospel. There were times when God had him baptize a few people, but that was not his purpose in life, not his ministry, not his calling, no matter how good and wonderful baptism is. In the book of Acts they delegated 7 men to wait on tables, for they said "it is not for us to leave the ministry and wait on tables". This was not because they were somehow above waiting on tables, but because they weren't called to meet that need. And by not trying to meet needs we aren't called to meet, we open the doors for those who are called to meet those needs to serve in the ministry God purposed for them.
     Do only that which Christ tells you to: nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. Do not be ashamed, do not be discouraged. Do not listen to the condemning lies of the enemy which say that because you aren't meeting everyone's needs that are brought to your attention that you are heartless and unloving, un-Christ-like. Jesus Himself only healed one man at the pool-- He spent time in prayer, asking what the Father would have Him do, and did only that which He was told. Thus He was rested, and at total peace.