Dear Lizzie Mae,

"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." -- Romans 1.5

Notice that grace here, is used alongside "apostleship." Perhaps showing -- again -- that grace has something to do with a "calling." Note again that it is something given and received. Is it true that there is a raison d'etre, a divine rationale for one person's life, and no purpose or rationale at all for another person's life?

Clearly Paul felt an unmistakable "call" from God. A call that he felt stemmed from God's grace. We observe men and women who have known God's special touch. Respected people of God who claim a "call" since the age of sixteen. We perhaps wonder why we feel no such specialized focus of purpose.

In a child's book about growing up and becoming, an important question is asked, "You gotta be sumthin,' whatcha gonna be?" It is true? Must we all grow up with the consciousness of becoming? There are those who think not. There are those who think life should be functionally reactive, non-assertive. One should go with the flow of things.

They forget the salmon.

Of course, there is a time when salmon do go with the flow. The trip down river to the ocean when they are young; four years of development in the open oceans. But then the time comes to spawn -- their purpose if you will. With uncanny instinct they find the mouth of the exact river from which they came. With undeterred determination, they fight against what seems to be an irresistible current and the hungry jaws of grizzlies, to locate the precise spot of the beginning of their life. They often find it in a tributary, a tiny creek no larger than three feet wide and miles away from the river.

I know a special servant of God whose life is a good example of the salmon. After graduating from an ivy-league university and serving in the Marine Corps, he became a successful attorney. So successful that he became special counsel to the President of the United States. Some might conclude that this man had discovered his purpose.

Nope! He had yet to reach the mouth of the river. Through the Watergate debacle, he felt himself dashed against the rocks. Dazed and in a state of shock, he turned to God -- and found him. It was only then that he began to realize his real and true raison d'etre. Today multitudes have come to Christ through the direct and indirect influence of this man. His primary disciples are prison inmates and their families. The ministry God has built through his vision has helped them and nurtured them. By the grace of God it has enabled them to be disciples of Christ carrying the light of the gospel into darkened institutions around the world.

I cannot guess at what time in the course of our lives any of us may find our calling in the grace of God. Here's a tip: Your calling from God is always related to the gifts he has given you. Can't find your calling? Evaluate your gifts. Also, if you don't know your gifts, look for the thng you most love to do. Do that.

There is no question that God has a special, unique purpose for you. There may be more than one. We cannot all be as saintly as we would like to be. We can't be Jesus Christ. Or in our own way, in a way consistent with our own gifts and uniqueness, can't we? Must we?

-- PDM