Jesus, Abraham, and the Nature of God's Call

For each of us willing to take on the mantle of discipleship, there are tasks that God has for us to perform in our time.  That is the purpose of God entering into relationship with us.  We are not redeemed for our protection and safety.  We are redeemed so we can, like Christ, bring God's light to the world.

Discerning God's call requires wisdom and courage, just as carrying out God's call does.  Discerning God's call requires wisdom because God's call will likely require us to act and think differently than the world.  Those who are part of the Church might even think, in fact, that we are actually acting contrary to God's call.

This is evident in Jesus telling the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, and be raised on the third day.  Peter gets upset; Jesus is acting contrary to what common sense dictates about security and safety.  Jesus rebukes Peter, and tells him that in order for us to be disciples, we must all take up our cross.  Not literally, but figuratively; just as Jesus agonized in the garden due to the difficulty of God's call, God will likely call us to go to those place where we would otherwise choose not to go, and say those things that the world doesn't want to hear.