The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery (The Spiritual Journey, #2)

by David G. Benner

Vocation

Vocation is the older, more theologically rooted word for what we sometimes today refer to as “calling.” Both point us in the same direction—toward a purpose of being that is grounded in God rather than in our self. Our vocation, like our self, can be understood only in relation to the One Who Calls.

First, we are called to be human beings. In Becoming Human, Jean Vanier reminds us of the fundamental importance of this call to discover and live out our shared humanity. He describes it is “a journey from loneliness to a love that grows in and through belonging,” a love that “liberates us from self-centred compulsions and inner hurts . . . that finds its fulfillment in forgiveness and in loving those who are our enemies.”4 This, and nothing less, is what is involved in the call to become fully human.

A second level of calling is to be Christians. This builds on the first by showing us the route to the fulfillment of our humanity. Genuine Christ-following will always make us more, not less, human. We know something is seriously wrong if it does not. Jesus Ch...

Our calling is therefore the way of being that is both best for us and best for the world. This is what Frederick Buechner means when he states that “the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”7

The communal nature of the kingdom of God also draws our attention to the fact that we discover our calling—and, as previously noted, our true self—in community.

To live apart from a sense of calling by God is to live a life oriented simply to our own choices about who we want to be and what we want to do. Calling brings freedom and fulfillment because it orients us toward something bigger than self.

Our call, like Jesus’ call, is to live out our life in truth and in dependence on the loving will of the Father. As was the case for Jesus, the discernment of this call must always involve wrestling with God, our self and the devil in the solitude of our private wilderness. And as for Jesus, this discernment must always occur in the light of our present life circumstances. This means that attentiveness to God’s call is a lifelong matter.

Too often we think of God’s call (or our vocation) solely in terms of what we do. People speak of being called to the ministry or feeling called to work in healthcare or teaching. However, while doing will always be involved, vocation is much more than our occupation. It is the face of Christ we are called from eternity to show to the world. It is who we are called to be.

Living the Truth of Our Uniqueness

I have come to understand an even more basic place in which God’s will for me has been communicated. That is in the givens of my being. My temperament, my personality, my abilities, and my interests and passions all say something about who I was called to be, not simply who I am. If I really believe that I was created by God and invited to find my place in his kingdom, I have to take seriously what God had already revealed about who I am.

My calling is not simply to be a lecturer, writer or psychologist. It is to be a kingdom servant of

Yahweh. But the way I am to do that is grounded in the self that God created. And that self has directed me toward the understanding and promotion of the well-being of the inner life of persons.