THE VOCATION OF THE NATURAL LIFE

But when it pleased God … to reveal His Son in me …

— Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to any particular service; my
interpretation of it may be because contact with the nature of God
has made me realize what I would like to do for Him. The call of God
is essentially expressive of His nature; service is the outcome of
what is fitted to my nature. The vocation of the natural life is
stated by the apostle Paul – “When it pleased God to reveal His Son
in me that I might preach Him” (i.e., sacramentally express ) “among
the Gentiles.”

Service is the overflow of superabounding devotion; but, profoundly
speaking, there is no call to that, it is my own little actual bit
and is the echo of my identification with the nature of God. Service
is the natural part of my life. God gets me into a relationship with
Himself whereby I understand His call, then I do things out of sheer
love for Him on my own account. To serve God is the deliberate
love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is
expressive of that which is fitted to my nature: God’s call is
expressive of His nature; consequently when I receive His nature and
hear His call, the voice of the Divine nature sounds in both and the
two work together. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and I serve
Him in the ordinary ways of life out of devotion to Him.

On this day...

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