What do we mean when we talk about being called? The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word from which we also get the word “call,” along with the words “vocal” and “vocalization.” A call, most literally, is an audible sound, cry, or summons. In this literal sense, a call is a summons of someone by someone else. A call requires both a caller and the called.

A calling from God isn’t an audible vocalization such as that given by a military commander or an order from a judge given in court. Rather, God uses the things he has made – other people, our circumstances, our gifts, and even our passions – to sound that call. It is not our job to be called. It is our job to answer the call. The Bible is replete with stories of people being called. Indeed, within the biblical context and within our own lives, calling is “a metaphor for the life of faith itself.” But hearing and discerning this call so that we can answer it isn’t always easy. While passion burns inside us, a call comes from outside.

They don’t always entirely coincide.