Calling (Klasis, Ephesians 4)

   One thing that has been on my mind lately has been this idea of "Calling" or "Called."  In our language it means a name or that which we are known by, but I like this definition that I found through the Greek translation.  The word "call" in the Greek denotes an invitation, but it also takes our understanding of the word a little deeper.  The word goes deeper too "the receiving of a name."  Another study of the word "name" shows that name is a form of identity. To know one's name is to know the person, speaking of the relational knowing that comes from spending time with that person or thing.  For me intimacy comes to mind in the sense of knowing and being known.  To be called is to be given a name, an identity.  In the acceptance of Christ into our lives we have been given the name of "Christian," or Christ follower, and that is where our identity stems from.  Paul talks a lot about this, particularly to the Ephesians.  He maps out what a life "worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1, NASB) in the first 16 verses of Ephesians 4. 


     Taking this further than just the name, there is also an action.  Now, and possibly even before, God has called or invited us into a role, not that that role isn't also a name but the name that he has given us comes with a gift, and with that gift comes an active involvement.  Again Paul writes about what some of these names and gifts might be.  In Ephesians 4:11, Paul states that God has gifted "some as apostles, some as prophets, some as pastors and teachers" to be gifts.  These aren't just names.  Each name/person comes with a certain gift set that can be used to equip others within the church to do the same (verse 12), all working toward the unification under Christ.  Paul likes to use the image of the body, with Christ at its head, to help explain this.  Each limb on its own can't properly function, but with the help and work of each of the other parts the limbs can work and function at a much higher efficiency than on their own, but even then the body has no direction without the head. If you pursue your connection with the head, you will gain direction, whether you see it or not (Jesus is the lamp unto my feet, light to my path), into that which you are called.