Every young person who has grown up in the Church of God has probably wondered at some point in time: “How do I know if God is calling me? And if God is calling me, how do I respond?” For some, this “calling of God” has been mysterious and hard to grasp. God does not communicate by “handwriting on the wall” in this age, or by email. Is a “calling” an overpowering “feeling” from God, like some powerful spiritual magnet that supernaturally pulls you to do what is right? Or is it something that you can choose to respond to or ignore?
First, we need to realize that to be “called by God” simply means to have received an invitation. Sometimes, an invitation to a party or wedding is sent with an R.S.V.P.—which means that you are asked to respond to the invitation. If you intend to come, you must let the host know your intentions so a place will be saved for you.
Christ taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is like an invitation to a wedding: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come” (Matthew 22:2–3). As with any invitation, some individuals accept, and some do not even bother to respond. The English words “call” and “invited” (v. 3) are translated from the same Greek word. To be “called” by God and to be “invited” by God are the same.
The key question is: are all children or young adults reared by a converted parent invited (called) by God, or is the invitation only given to a select few of these young people? Peter answered this question when he stated, on the day of Pentecost, that those who have truly repented and been baptized would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Peter anticipated the question of concerned parents when he said: “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (v. 39).
Some years later, Paul reminded the Corinthians that children of even one converted parent are not “unclean”—they are not spiritually separated or cut off from God (1 Corinthians 7:14). In fact, they are “holy”—which means that they are unique in God’s sight and have direct access to Him. In other words, they have an open invitation or calling from God.
So, for those reared in the Church, the real question becomes: are you willing to respond (R.S.V.P.) to God’s invitation? God has already given you an invitation, and now it is up to you. The ball is in your court. Do not expect a “bolt out of the blue” from God, or some kind of “supernatural” religious feeling. God is not going to suddenly call your name in the middle of the night and say “I want you; this is your calling.”
At some point you realize that you are a sinner, and are headed for death unless God intervenes. You see the contrast between the curses of disobedience, and the blessings God’s way brings—including a stable marriage with the right converted person. You want God to help you make all the major decisions in your life, including selecting your career. You also want the blessing of relative freedom from fear in the difficult years ahead, as society spins apart before the end of the age. And you understand that it is not all about “getting”—it is also about “giving.” You want to support God’s Work, so that others may hear His warnings and may share in the blessings that He has given you. You know that God will protect you, and bless and guide you, if you choose to respond (R.S.V.P.) to His invitation.
You also come to see not only that you want all the blessings and stability and peace and joy that God’s Way has to offer in this life, but also that you want to be a part of the magnificent future in His kingdom. This awesome future, as part of the Family of God, will enable you to enjoy life beyond what any physical human being has ever experienced. During the Millennium, you will be a representative of the ruling Family of God. You will have honor, position and wealth—and yet, much more importantly, you will have a totally fulfilling job helping other human beings reach their full potential!
At what age do you begin responding to God’s calling? You begin this process by beginning to seek the great God, right now! You do not wait until you are old enough to be baptized. You begin to seek God now so that, when you are old enough, you will already want, and appreciate the value of what God has to offer (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Then, typically in your late teens or early twenties, as you begin to draw closer to God, you will experience the truth of His promise to draw closer to you (James 4:8). Notice that since God has already invited or called you, the first move is up to you. He promises to draw closer to you and bless you if you respond to His call by drawing closer to Him. How do you draw closer to God? By talking to Him daily; by praying and pouring out your mind and heart to this Supreme Being who wants to share the universe with you. You also draw closer to God by daily reading and studying His written word, so you can better find answers to life’s questions, learn God’s way of life and actually, in time, begin to think like God.
If you really begin to obey God, you will find, in time, that God will lead you to initial repentance and conversion. Many may initially wonder: “What do I have to repent of? After all, I have basically lived by God’s Ten Commandments, so what is there to repent of? I haven’t committed fornication or murdered anyone” (cf. Matthew 19:20). But repentance—willingness to change—comes by realizing the difference in one’s life between the “letter” of the law and the “spirit” of the law. You may not have murdered anyone, but almost everyone has expressed hate and anger toward others. Most have not committed adultery or fornication. But according to Christ, when we lust after another, we commit adultery or fornication in the mind—and we have also decreased our chance of happiness in marriage, as we have created a basis for comparison and may not be able to value our future mate as we should.
For every one of the Ten Commandments, there is the “letter of the law” (the physical act) and the “spirit of the law” (what we think in our mind). Even those reared in the Church, if they examine themselves honestly, will almost certainly have to admit that they have totally broken the spirit of God’s law. It is simply human nature to do so.
In time we all must see, as part of our conversion process, that we are basically self-centered and selfish by nature. Conversion—the change in direction leading to eventual membership in the God Family—is changing direction from this self-centered way of life to God’s Way of life: genuine outgoing concern for others.
It is not unusual for young adults reared in the Church to conclude that they are simply not yet righteous enough to be baptized. They may feel a need to be “next to perfect” before God will accept them. They may think that they should have read through the Bible many times and memorized vast passages of Scripture. This is part of a clever deception by Satan, who knows that none of us will ever totally measure up to God’s perfection in this life. God’s Word tells us that He rewards “those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). After repentance and baptism, God will give the gift of His Spirit to anyone whom He has called (invited) who “diligently” seek Him. The key is diligently (or aggressively) seeking God, not reaching near-perfection before receiving God’s Spirit.
When you, as a young person in the Church, realize that you really do need God in your life and you know that you need the power of God’s Spirit to transform your life, it is time to begin counseling for baptism. An ordained minister will not be looking for a personal confession, nor expect you to list your sins, but will simply help guide you in the process of seeking God. You may be asked to read and study God’s Word and various Church publications as you “count the cost” of unconditional surrender to the God of the universe.
What does “counting the cost” mean (Luke 14:28–30)? You count the cost of unconditional surrender and obedience to God by carefully analyzing what God expects of you, and deciding whether what God offers is something to which you can make a total lifelong commitment. God offers us a contract (new covenant) with terms and conditions. God provides us with His Spirit, promises to provide all our needs in this life (Matthew 6:33), offers us eternal life as a future “God Being” in His family and promises to provide us an important and fulfilling position in the Kingdom of God, ruling over the earth. In turn, we promise to fully obey God in His way of life—without any reservations—and to put Him first in our life, ahead of everything else (Luke 14:26–27).
To accelerate this process, you should begin to ask God to help you see what you need to change in your life. When God begins to grant repentance, you will begin to see that repentance is far more than an awareness of what you have done wrong-specific sins in your life-but it is also a desire to change what you are, and a desire to overcome your self-centered and selfish nature.
Occasional fasting will also bring you closer to God, and will be strong evidence to Him that you truly are serious. As you move closer to God, be sure to ask Him to grant you repentance (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18), and ask Him to reveal to you that you have truly repented. Simply “joining” the Church-perhaps because you want to please your parents, or you feel you are old enough, or you want to marry someone who is a member of the Church-is not repentance! Real repentance is of the heart as well as the mind. With repentance, you want more than anything else on earth to acquire the very mind of God and to live His way of life. You want to surrender unconditionally to the Supreme God of the universe and to His fantastic plan for your life, which extends out into eternity.
Those reared by converted parents have a monumental choice to make! God has offered you an open invitation to rule with Him over this earth and, later, the entire universe! Will you ignore your Creator, and assume that you can get more out of this life if you let the “god of this world” convince you to put off your calling and run the risk of losing your way in the world, losing your chance to be in the first resurrection (Hebrews 11:35)? Or will you accept God’s invitation to bless you in this life, and to train you to become a firstfruit—a member of His family in the Kingdom of God?
God’s invitation to you carries an R.S.V.P. He states it this way: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days” (Deuteronomy 30:19–20). God has offered you a clear choice. Now it is your move.