Sorry if Cancer was the first word that came to your mind, the C-word I’m talking about here is Calling.

For many who desire to live life in a meaningful way, this word can be a love-hate relationship, and partly because we have not fully grasped the simplicity of what it means.

So much religious jargon has made the concept of Calling very ambiguous. It has become a very charged word that separates some from the rest. Some people feel more superior to others in society because they see themselves as Called.

We have all fallen into the trap of describing what we do as our Calling. I have heard people say things like “My Calling is to go to Africa,” “My Calling is to be a Pastor,” “I am Called to be a Missionary”, and so on.

In some sense, all of the above are true, but incomplete which causes confusion. The main cause of this confusion is because we have gravitated towards only one dimension of Calling, without placing equal emphasis on the other dimension. 

So what are the two dimensions?

1.   Our Core – This is where the ingredients of who you really are reside. It is how you were made. This is your essence, the very fibre of your soul. Your personality, style, preferences are all clues that affirm who you really are in the core of your being. It is your divine center. That is where God’s spirit intertwines with your spirit.

2.   Our Role – This is what you choose to spend your life and time doing. It is the platforms or careers that allow your core to come alive. Your roles can change from time to time, place to place, person to person but your core never changes. That is why what you do or where you serve is not an accurate definition of your calling. Roles are an extension of your identity, but never enough to define who you are.

One without the other is incomplete.

One of the common dangers is taking on roles that do not align with your core, which is like firing bullets in all directions, hoping to “hit the target” somehow (for lack of better analogy, I hate guns by the way).

Another common misconception is when people say that Calling can change.

Let me make a very bold statement here…

No, Calling never changes. Your calling starts at birth and ends at death.

Why?

Because your Calling is deeply buried in the essence of who you are. You can lose a job, a role, a title or a certain way of feeling but you cannot lose the Core of your Calling. You can change careers, change your marital status, but those are simply the roles that you choose to extend who you are in the world, for a particular reason, at a given time.

Although you cannot lose your Calling, the irony is you can ignore it, suppress it, deny it, delay it, etc.  You can never destroy it. You are hard-wired in a certain way for a certain purpose on earth.

So what is a simplified meaning of Calling?

It is the essence of who you are and how you choose to invest yourself as a channel for God in the world.

Here’s another bold truth:

Everyone has a Calling.

The only difference is that some are awakened to this sense of who they are and living it purposefully for God’s glory, while others are still in a deep spiritual sleep.

Here’s how Thomas R. Kelly describes our Core:

“Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return… The basic response of the soul to the Light is internal adoration and joy, thanksgiving and worship, self-surrender and listening. The secret places of the heart cease to be our noisy workshop. They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on Him who has found us in the inner springs of our life.”

The Core and the Role are meant to serve us when in the right place. When you strengthen your Core, we will be in better shape and able to cope with transitions, such as changing roles, places or industry.

On the contrary, lack of clarity of one’s Core will naturally lead to major cracks or breakdowns during times of transition. Those who derive their identity from their Roles will struggle with transitioning well. Their whole world will be threatened.  It will become  a time of major crisis instead of growth.

What we do in The PIN Code program is to align people’s Role with their Core.

What are your thoughts regarding  your own Core and Role in life?

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