Hollywood Toilet Attendants and The Call of God...

I know that it is supposed to be one of the greatest places in the world but I actually think that Hollywood is potentially a really sad place. Every year thousands of young oscar hopefuls flock there to become the next Tom Cruise, but they always seem to end up bitter, frustrated and working in a bar on the edge of town along with all the other washed up actors, singers and musicians. Why else would you have so many good looking and amazingly talented toilet attendants in one city? Hollywood is a place full of people who missed their big break, people who didn’t get “the call” for the next big thing.

To be honest I think that some people see the church in the same way I see Tinsel Town (minus the attractive toilet attendants!)

Have you heard the Call of God yet? another young person asks me as they sit pondering what it is they are meant to do with their lives. THE CALL OF GOD is a much used phrase but sometimes it can leave you waiting for something to happen before you feel like you have made it. It can sometimes seem like you are amidst a whole generation who somehow missed the call to the next big thing.

The truth is that hearing the “Call of God” is much easier than we think. It is not necessarily a commissioning to a specific task that must be discovered, but rather a completely different way of life, that must be uncovered, in the context of friendship with God. In other words, our calling is not to do something but to be someone based on the knowledge that we are already called.

In fact, the Bible tells us we were CALLED BY GOD even before we became Christians and there are loads of scriptures which help give shape to the kind of calling we have already received. The NIV BIBLE tells us we are:

CALLED TO A LIFE WITH JESUS

• Called to belong to Jesus (Romans 1:5-6)
• Called into fellowship with Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:9)
• Called to become like Jesus (Romans 8:29)

CALLED TO A GODLY CHARACTER

• Called to live a worthy life (Ephesians 4:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:11)
• Called to be holy whilst connected in community (1 Corinthian 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:9)
• Called by God’s goodness after being given everything we need to serve God (2 Peter 1:5)
• Called to freedom (Galatians 5:13)
• Called to peace (Colossians 3:15)

CALLED TO A HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE

• Called by heavenly, not human, standards (1 Corinthians 1:26)
• Called out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9)
• Called to win a heavenly prize (Philippians 3:14)



We are ALL called for great things, even YOU. If you are struggling to see why you are here, it is time to remember who you are here. We are each “God’s Workmanship” created to do the good works he has given each of us to do. There are no “has beens” “mismatches” or “misfits” in the Kingdom of God.

Heaven is not Hollywood.

Each of us has unique gifts, tasks, purposes and seasons we will discover along the journey of our life, but first and foremost we are CALLED to be with Jesus. Maybe we should stop worrying about what we are supposed to do with our lives and start enjoying him. Read this verse from Thessalonians:

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
2 Thessalonians 1:11

The writer is implying that God’s power is ready to be outworked in any of our good plans and any of our faith filled acts right now. Why? Because of who God has ALREADY called you to be. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A EXTRAORDINARY SUPER STAR YOU JUST HAVE TO BE AN ORDINARY SERVANT! Sometimes I think that we are waiting for God, whilst in fact God may be waiting for us.

The time has come for us to stop waiting to hear the call and start living and acting as if we had heard it already... It might just be SHOW TIME!