ORDINATION: HUMAN RECOGNITION OF DIVINE CALLING -- Devotional for June 3, from "Good Seeds"

And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

Here we see Paul in the first chapter of his career as a missionary (notice he was still called Saul). He had been a Christian for some time by now, but had submitted to an ordeal of testing and training in Arabia not unlike that experienced by Moses in Midian, both men emerging from an extended time of wilderness isolation with “BD” pinned to their tunics – for they had finally matriculated from God’s seminary of suffering and silence and received of Him the acclaimed “Backside of the Desert” degree! (Compare those quiet first 30 years of our Lord’s earthly career). At long last Paul was ready to enter public ministry. But wait, how do we know that? Was it just the confirmation of his peers that made such a determination? No, for as in every other facet of Christian experience and service, the call of Paul was a “God thing.” Leaders in the church at Antioch had met to fast and pray. (By the way, how common is such a gathering today? Oh, we Christians love to meet together for worship and fellowship, as well as for church business and ministry “busyness,” but how often do we hold back a bit on the game nights and church campouts, and rein in the banquets and potlucks for a little while – how often, in fact, do we just leave food off our plates and away from our palates for a season – in order to meet the Lord uninterrupted and unencumbered for a time of sincere prayer?) We are not told what motivated the men to wait upon the Lord in this extreme way, only that the result was the birthing of the first missionary movement of the church! Paul later wrote, “Looking back I now know that God separated me from my mother's womb, called me by His grace, and revealed His Son to me and in me, that I might preach Christ to the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16). All that being true, it took a service of ordination, where Christian co-workers, recognizing that Paul was a marked man chosen particularly by God for a particular work, solemnly laid hands on him. Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), thus confirming the partnership between God and godly men in His kingdom work. The amazing thing here is that when these men spoke, it was the Holy Spirit’s voice that was heard! But now, let’s bring it home to where we live: What about us today? Does the Spirit of God have a work, a calling, a place of service, for you and me? You bet He does! And it’s high time we get serious about it. And then, once our call is confirmed by God and affirmed by men, we’d better start packing our bags!