Responding to the call

2 Thessalonians 2:14  "He called you to this through our Gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

What does it mean to be "called" to something?  We can be asked to do something, in which case the power to decide rests with us.  We can examine the merits of the situation as well as our own abilities and desire, and ultimately decide whether to accept or reject the request.  We can also be told to do something by someone in authority over us.  This command bestows no privilege of choice on us.  It is about someone else's judgment and decision about what should happen and how it should happen.  We can only carry out the order.

A calling seems to have elements of both a request and a command.  We are not absolutely compelled and without choice with a calling, so it has elements of a request.  However, there is something in our core being that feels compelled to answer a calling.  A calling comes from One in authority over us.  Although it has the element of choice, the compelling resignation we feel gives it the attributes of a command.

A request is consciously decided by our brain, while a calling is unconsciously decided by our heart.  Being called to the Lord is not an intellectual exercise solely contained in our brain.  God gave us free will and does not obligate us to love Him.  A calling, though, touches something in our hearts, something that is part of our natural design.  Although we have free will and can exercise that free will to delay the specifics, a calling never leaves our hearts.  Answering a calling fulfills part of God's plan for us.