Some relevant quotes about "calling"
Compiled by Frank Glenn
- "What, then is our duty? It is to carefully distinguish the historic moment in which we live and to consciously assign our small energies to a specific battlefield. The more we are in phase with the current which leads the way, the more we aid man in his difficult, uncertain, danger-fraught ascent toward salvation." - Nikos Kazantakis, Report to Greco
- "Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength." Hasidic (Jewish) Proverb
- "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down." - Ray Bradbury
- "God has empowered us to become 'Little Christs'." - C. S. Lewis
- "We only do well the things we like doing." - Colette, Prisons and Paradise, 1932
- "We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, callings." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
- "If a man loves the labor of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him." - Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
- "In a world where there is so much to be done. I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do." - Dorothea Dix
- "There is a conflict that comes to light between one's heart's desire and one's circumstances, between what one wants to be and what one must be. Both ways are lonely ones, for if one follows one's heart's desire, one is estranged from the circumstances of one's life. And if one submits to circumstances, one is estranged from one's heart's desire. Either way, one feels far removed from oneself. If one lives out the conflict, on the other hand, not choosing one over the other, but holding fast to both heart's desire and circumstances, one can find whatever unity there is between what one wants to be and what one must be. Heart's desire and circumstances come together to define a path." - John Donne (1572-1631)
- "The wise musicians are those who play what they can master." - Duke Ellington
- "To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun?" - Katharine Graham
- "When God appoints, God believes."- Wilholm Ho, student, Silliman University, 1998
- "What I must do is all that concerns me. This rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
- "Every calling is great when greatly pursued." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
- "Make your life a mission -- not an intermission." - Ellen Glasgow
- "Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling." - Vincent Van Gogh
- "Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you." - Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (1821-1881)
- "God sometimes calls the equipped; but God always equips the called." - Anonymous
- "How can you tell the difference between a job and a ministry? Some Christians merely have a job(s) in the church. Others are involved in a ministry. There's all the difference in the world! How can you tell the difference between a job and a ministry?
- If you are doing it because no one else will, it's a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it's a ministry.
- If you're doing it just well enough to get by, it's a job. If you're doing it to the best of your ability, it's a ministry.
- If you'll do it only so long as it doesn't interfere with other activities, it's a job. If you're committed to staying with it even when it means letting go of other things, it's a ministry.
- If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it was a job. If you stay with it even though no one seems to notice, it's a ministry.
- If you do it because someone else said it needs to be done, it's a job. If you are doing it because you are convinced it needs to be done, it's a ministry.
- It's hard to get excited about a job. It's almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.
- If your concern is success, it's a job. If your concern is faithfulness, it's a ministry.
- People may say "well done" when you do your job. The Lord will say "well done" when you complete your ministry.
- An average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry.
- If God calls you to a ministry, for heaven's sake (literally), don't treat it like a job. If you have a job in the church, give it up and find a ministry! God doesn't want us feeling stuck with a job, but excited, fulfilled, and faithful to Him in a specific ministry." - Anonymous
(Comments to Frank at fcgiii@yahoo.com )