“The first sign of the heavenly calling is an intense, all-absorbing, desire for the work.:

When I was nine, I wanted to be a fighter pilot. To be honest, I still wouldn’t mind that line of work. I love to fly and I would love to get my pilots license, some day. When I was thirteen I decided to become a youth pastor or missionary. Over the past 15 or so years of ministry there have been a lot of days where I wanted to quit and do something else. I bet Spurgeon had those days too. I can even remember a couple of weeks where the only thing that kept me in ministry was the realization that I was not qualified to do anything else. I would have to start over in whatever profession I switched to.

Those days seem to pass and most of the time I get reenergized and the passion for ministry returns. As we read the book of Acts I can’t help but think of the passion that kept the apostles and Christians going. The days when I feel like quitting are usually because I got a couple of bad phone calls from some parents, frustration with “church politics”, or maybe I just flat out got tired. A bad day for Stephen got him stoned, Peter and John were thrown in prison, others were beaten, and still others were dragged before ruling councils and the like. Still their passion burned.

This passion, this all-absorbing desire is not a whim or some kind of passing thought. These desires are well thought out considering the costs of ministry. Those costs can be significant. Ministry is not only hard on one person, but it is hard for families. It’s earthly rewards are, generally speaking, not significant. When asking yourself if you are called, begin by considering the cost.