Created And Called
Jeremiah was a servant of God who lived six centuries before the time of Christ. Many call him “the weeping prophet” because of the intense, emotional nature of his prophecies of doom and judgment.
Jeremiah had served as a priest before God called him to be a prophet—a person who would tell the people what God was thinking.
And like Moses centuries earlier, Jeremiah initially resisted God’s call. “I do not know how to speak,” he said. “I am only a child” (Jer. 1:6).
God wasn’t moved by his protests. “You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you” (Jer. 1:7).
God also reassured Jeremiah that this new calling was no spur-of-the-moment thing. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” he said. “Before you were born I set you apart.”
God calls each one of us to do things that no one else on earth can do. He calls few prophets, but he does command us to serve him in the ways we can with the years we have left.
For some, this means we will be involved in various forms of ministry such as preaching or teaching in a church, serving as a missionary, or working as an elder to guide the life of a church and its members.
Most of us, though, will probably serve God in our varied secular callings.
Whether you own a business, work for others, or labor at raising your children, you have plenty of chances to live out your faith in God.
Regardless of what we do for God, the important thing to remember is that he designed us the way we are. We didn’t make ourselves or create our own lives.
Therefore, it’s right for us to give our lives to God so that whatever we do, we live and act for his glory.
This passage from Jeremiah has been a powerful inspiration for members of the pro-life movement.
The passage makes clear that human life is something that begins before birth, and possibly even before conception.
But the message of this passage is relevant to all of us, not just prophets and pro-life activists.
God is trying to remind us that our lives are in his hands and that he has cared for us since before there was an “us” to care for.
Our lives are part of a vast, seamless web of love and creation that began long before we were born. If we remember this, our lives can be transformed.
Thank you, God, for making me. Now help me serve you in any way I can.