Close Call

It’s kinda nice staying near church. As one of the Queens townfolk used to say, if the church needs extra hands, you’re just a few minutes away. Well, it was weird to be sitting in front of the terminal at home on a Wednesday night, though I was really looking forward to a quiet evening of work and a Sunday service where I could participate in corporate worship without a care.

Recently, I found singing in the worship ministry a tremendous means of grace, through which God draws me nearer to Him, shows and reminds me who He is, comforts and strengthens me. I have a persistent Martha problem, I think most of you already know – my hands are so busy, my mind is preoccupied and my heart prone to wander. Imagine my delight when I realized that the quietest moments of last week came during the weekend through serving in song, both in Shao Tuan and Hua2. So I didn’t hesitate when the ‘call of duty’ came last night.

Yes, I said DUTY.

Duty, not in the “I don’t want to, but if I must, I will do it” attitude but more like answering the compelling call within, to fulfill the purpose for which you were made. Both are obligations in some way, but their effects are profoundly different. Taken in the first sense, there is an element of dread and grudge because you are bound by only by commitment, in turn only our promises are honoured. Taken in the second sense, there is JOY in duty – when God’s will is revealed to you, when the Spirit moves you to respond to this revelation in appropriate ways!

Wait, what ‘revelation’???

No, I’m not talking abstract here, but I’m also taking this in two senses.

God’s will is revealed to us in Scripture – what pleases God, what He is concerned about, what He wants His children to be, His desires…These we can know, by His grace, through God-given wisdom. And if we are truly passionate about God and His glory, I pray that we will be ignited and inspired within to answer these calls.

The other kind of ‘revelation’ is more specific and it differs from person to person. For me, I know that I’ll be in the worship ministry for a long time. This is the area of service I’ve been called to take up many years back. It was a strong, resounding call and I know deep within that this is where God has put me in His family. It’s my duty lovingly assigned by Him, to work, to play and to serve right here.

Knowledge always has its implications and this is probably why I answered ‘the call’ last night. I wasn’t going beyond the call of duty. I was merely fulfilling it, with joy.

If I may borrow the words from When I Look Into Your Holiness:
When we find the joy of reaching His heart, when our wills become enthralled in His love, our only appropriate response is WORSHIP.