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4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, "I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:4-10 NRSV)
Jeremiah shares his call and commission story in this passage. As we discussed, different people have different call stories that we can, but shouldn't compare. We remember Paul having his knocked off his high horse story in Acts 9, Moses had his burning bush encounter with God; what's yours, dear Friend? I had my calling when I was about 8 years old, when I heard what the preacher was saying about having a relationship with Jesus, and I prayed the prayer of faith, inviting Jesus into my heart and life. And my life was changed for the better from that moment on. It was later that I felt God calling me into ordained ministry when I was in eleventh grade and I fought that call, listing all the reasons I could think of to keep me from having to say yes to God. But we hear just what an awesome God we have in what we read in verse 4, where God says to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Now you and me may not be called in quite the same lofty manner as Jeremiah, but God knew us before we were formed in the womb, and some calling to serve Him was part of our consecration. Now to hear that God may have a task as huge as Jeremiah might make us reply to God in saying, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a _________ (in his case, boy fills the blank). But God replied back that he could not hide behind such an excuse because God was with him and would lead him to places he never expected to be, and saying what he never thought he would say; such is the awesomeness of God.
Among the things that God shared with Jeremiah is that he had been touched by God to do the work God wanted him to do. The touch on the mouth meant God placed in Jeremiah the words he needed as he preached on God's behalf. God also shares a partial list of what God expected; "to pluck up and to pull down," meaning that he was to uproot and pull down the things that shouldn't even be there among the nations and the kingdoms. Part of the assignment also meant "to destroy and to overthrow;" meaning that God's work for the prophet was not easy for the nations and kingdoms. And once the cleaning was complete, God would have the prophet "build and to plant." Not all of the work we may be assigned will be easy; in fact, it may be difficult and seemingly impossible; but still the work must be done.
Jeremiah was a man of faith. He trusted God. He walked with God. He prayed with God, and he listened to God. And when the day came for God to visit him and call him into ministry, it was a logical next step. I'm sure there was some hesitancy and some doubt, perhaps, but onward this young man went, for he was called by God. He was prepared, and he was ready. God had given him the sermons, God has given him the pulpit, and the anthem would be sung soon enough, and he would preach on God's behalf.
What have you been called to? And how is that going for you? I always like to share a part of an old Christian movie from my campus ministry days called Kevin Can Wait. Yes, it came out shortly after the secular Heaven Can Wait starring Warren Beatty (1978). Kevin was a runner and one day as he's doing his daily run, he gets past by a guy who made him look like he was standing still. Kevin finishes his run after a failed attempt to catch the stranger. At the park, the stranger informs Kevin that he's an angel sent by God because God is needing Kevin to do something special. This sets Kevin's mind to thinking and he sees himself as a missionary in the jungles of Africa, then on the stage of a Tonight Show set with Kevin as the host; then he imagines himself in a huge coliseum that is his church, packed to the gils with people and he apologizing for the "small crowd" due to the weather. It turns out God wanted him to reach out to the auto mechanic who was visiting his Sunday school class and making him feel welcome. On that Sunday, one of the church girls had brought her boyfriend, the star university quarterback to visit the church. Of course the crowd was around the QB and not anyone else, and it's here that Kevin understands. In God's eye, to welcome the newcomer, the visitor, the one no one else can see, is as important and as "big," as hosting a popular Christian talk show, or pastoring a megachurch, or being a missionary in the unexplored parts of the world. So, never see your task as not being significant; to God it is, and it is part of God's plan to win the world for Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help us realize to what we are being called to do, and grant to us the courage, strength and boldness to carry it out. We want to be faithful and fruitful; We want to serve You. Help us overcome the self-imposed challenges and obstacles, so that we can do what we have been called to do; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Serve God!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
