“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
This is a quote that we like to insert in obituaries, at least the 7th verse. But in reality, whether it is out of conviction or to honor the deceased, it will not change anything about what his life was like, nor where he is going when he leaves us. Does this then mean that this text is of no interest? Of course it is; and of supreme importance, but for us the living; because it allows us to take a moment of meditation to ensure that the fight we wage on a daily basis, in which we invest so much of our time, our money, our strength and our various resources, is indeed “the good fight.”
To this end, it is imperative to realize that a fight is always part of a global vision of which the fight in question is in fact only an instrument. It is also fundamental to realize that once it is established that we have a fight to wage, but also that it is clearly identified, then we should choose our weapons wisely, ... rather than prolonging in the image, let's head straight towards the objects.
Global strategy
God created us all for a well-defined goal, which fits into a global strategy. Generally speaking, this life has three compartments: our family vocation, our vocation in society (or so-called secular life) and our spiritual vocation (in the coming of the Kingdom of God).
The supreme vocation is spiritual, it can therefore happen that it absorbs the societal vocation (case of the apostle Peter [1 Corinthians 9: 6]), or even family (case of the apostle Paul [1 Corinthians 9: 5]) . But let’s take an overview of these “secondary” vocations before returning to the main one.
Family vocation
It would undoubtedly be risky to try to define the vocation of the family in a few words. But it is the first place where God projects to us the image of Christ and his Bride who is the Church, then of God the Father and his children who we are, if at least we have accepted his Salvation offered through Christ Jesus. Marriage is therefore a place par excellence where God allows us to realize the relationship he intends to have with us as a Spouse or as a Father, it is a place through which he models us mutually between spouses or in the parent/child relationship. And all this allows us to achieve the goal for which God placed woman with man: to accompany him, to help him in his vocation, particularly “main”;
Social vocation
The social vocation allows us to take our part in the smooth running of “secular” society, while taking care of our own. It is one of the quintessential images of the complementarity and interdependence of the members of the Body of Christ. No healing without a physicians, no clothing without a tailor, no food without a farmer or breeder, etc. We all need each other to have a balanced society. And for this God gave each of us a vocation, and the talent that goes with it, so that we can participate in it, but also earn the remuneration allowing us to take care of our family. All vocations are therefore essential, and even if in each field, the measure of talent can change from one person to another, they are all equally important. We will all need nurses for so-called "minor" care, they are however very important, but for illnesses of a certain nature, we will need so-called "general" physicians, or even specialists, if the illness is complex.
Spiritual vocation
The main vocation of every person is of a spiritual nature, and it begins with our conversion, our repentance, and our dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ, first for our sanctification through His blood, our salvation through His death on the cross, our new life obtained after His resurrection and glorification in heaven, which life He has transmitted to us through His Holy Spirit. Indeed, just as a father, after the birth of his child, just nourish and build him up so that he becomes an adult, before leading him to enter into his social vocation to take his rightful place in society; so God, after our conversion, builds and edifies us before later leading us to take our rightful place in the edification of the Body of Christ, as teachers, evangelists, administrators, etc.
It should be noted that God's overall vision is for His “will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” the mandate of the Church is to bring the kingdom of God to earth, that is, to exercise His royalty on earth. How is this done? First, by leading the greatest number of lost souls from the power of darkness to the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:12-14), then by investing ourselves and interceding so that in the various layers and spheres of society, His will is done there as well (management of the Church first, management of the family, management of politics, that is, the affairs of the city, etc. This is in preparation for God's absolute reign on earth through His children [Romans 8:16-23]). But in this overall plan, we each have a very specific calling, which can be an integral part of someone else's calling, at least for a time (for example, Timothy was for a long time a ministerial helper to Paul, the same for Joshua who helped Moses), or it can be a calling resting directly upon ourselves.
The Weapons of God
Whenever God calls a man, He equips him accordingly. Secularly we will call this equipment "talents" for a trade, while in the context of faith the Scriptures refer to them as "gifts of the Spirit." It is therefore to be noted, that for our spiritual and therefore main vocation, God calls us to rest absolutely on him; not in our own strength, but in the presence and assistance of his Holy Spirit within us.
To support our point, we will take three examples:
Moses: the Bible makes us understand that from the age of 40, Moses knew that God had chosen him to save his people (Acts 7: 23-25), but we realize from reading the Scriptures that he had gone there on his own strength, without waiting for instructions or strategy from God. He himself began to kill the enemy people. But God interrupted him to prepare him before sending him to fight the fight of his life. And we see that this Moses, once full of enthusiasm, no longer had the same level of enthusiasm (Exodus 4:1-18), yet for God he was now ready.
David: God completed his preparation for the battle of his life which consists of exercising kingship over Israel for the glory of God. The finalization of this preparation was through his fight against Goliath (1 Samuel 17). For the said fight, King Saul wanted to give him weapons that were rather his own, but not those that God had for David, those consisting above all of having faith in God. Because let us note, the stones and the sling symbolize the fact that David knew his victory to rest rather on God and not on human weapons; in other words, spiritual weapons and not carnal ones. Because let us note, at this precise moment, David had already received the divine anointing making him the king and therefore the leader, in the eyes of God, of the army of the Lord. (1 Samuel 16:13)
Peter: He had promised Christ that he would never abandon him, that he was ready to die for him. And his words were not in vain. When Christ was arrested, he actually took up the sword and engaged in battle (John 18:10-11). Only here again, all of Pierre's ardor and commitment rested on his own strength, his ability to handle carnal weapons. And as soon as the Lord asked him to put up his sword into the sheath, Peter felt “disarmed” and ended up denying his Master. But we will see the same Peter again once converted. The very first time that the apostles were strongly tested, Peter now filled with the Holy Spirit, had the right attitude he begged God to give them the strength to continue their vocation, in response God filled them again with the Holy Spirit.
Our departure is now being prepared
However old you are today, it is high time to reconsider your life, if it turns out that you have not yet, to this day, clearly received from God the Direction that your life should take.
If it happens that you are already born again, then begin by making the issue of your spiritual growth your top priority, surely along the way, God will reveal to you over time His purposes for your live. The details often multiply as you progress in Obedience.
If it rather happens that you do not yet recognize as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we invite you to browse the first section of articles entitled “Encounters with Christ”.
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