THE CALL

The call of Abraham was a type of the call to the Christian life. Genesis 12:1 says “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” I believe these instructions are clearly spelt out. It’s a call to a life of consecration to God and to His divine purposes. But unfortunately, there is a lot of compromise in our response to the call today. It is very common to find believers who want to mix earthly culture with their Christian life. I believe this is because these believers have not really understood that Christianity is a call that entails leaving and cleaving – just like marriage. You see, there can’t be a mix of the both! I’m yet to see a culture on earth that doesn’t have a demonic influence in it. 2 Cor. 4:4 tells us that the devil is the god of the system presently operating here on earth. It says “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” The devil tries to influence everything on earth, but as New Creation in Christ, we must stand out and refuse to bow or condescend to his influence.

The Word of God clearly tells us in Philippians 3:20 “…our citizenship is in heaven…” (NIV). In the Kingdom of God, dual citizenship is illegal. Some believers still cling tightly to their earthly descent to the point that the Heavenly citizenship has no reflection or expression in their lives. 1 Peter 2:9,10 makes it so clear that “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” also we see in 2 Corinthians 5:17,18 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God…” The Christian life is a call to a new identity – entirely! John 1:12,13 says “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

This is not to say we should have nothing to do with our earthly relatives. But if we claim to follow the foot steps of Jesus, then we must ask ourselves intelligent questions like: what was the place of earthly culture in the life of Jesus during His earth walk? When we ask the Holy Spirit questions like this and upon critical research, we would easily put things in the right perspective. Then we can follow in Jesus’ steps. If not we would miss it greatly. It’s about total consecration to God and His eternal purposes on earth – nothing else!