Purpose and Calling in the Third Third of Life: A Biblical Perspective

Those of us in the third third of life often yearn for a clear and compelling sense of purpose in this season of our lives. The typical retirement narrative, with its emphasis on recreation and relaxation, sounds appealing in a way. Yet we realize that we need more meaning in life than this narrative offers. Plus, we have a deep desire to make a difference in the world, especially in the lives of those about whom we care deeply. We find ourselves yearning for third third purpose.

Christians sometimes use the language of calling to talk about their sense of purpose in life. In fact, the words “purpose” and “calling” are often used interchangeably, as if they had the same meaning. I might say, for example, that my purpose is to help people flourish through a thoughtful and truthful understanding of Scripture. Alternatively, I might also say that my calling is to help people flourish through a thoughtful and truthful understanding of Scripture.

When speaking informally, it’s fine to equate “purpose” and “calling” in this way. But I would suggest that a thoughtful and truthful understanding of Scripture leads us into a deeper recognition of the relationship between purpose and calling. Moreover, biblical teaching reframes fundamentally how we think about purpose and calling and, therefore, how we live in all thirds of life, including the third third.

Purpose and Calling in 2 Thessalonians

Three passages in the New Testament explicitly link purpose and calling. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 we read,

“But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This passage uses the language of purpose and calling for the way God saves us. God calls us “through the proclamation of the good news” for the “purpose” of giving us his salvation. Notice that in this passage, purpose and calling belong primarily to the Lord. We are called by grace and according to God’s purpose into a saving relationship with God through Christ.

We are called by grace and according to God’s purpose into a saving relationship with God through Christ.

Purpose and Calling in 2 Timothy

Another passage connecting purpose and calling appears in the New Testament book we know as 2 Timothy. In verses 8-9 of chapter 1 we read,

“Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace” (emphasis added).

“Calling” in this passage refers not to some inner conviction we might have about how to live, but rather to God’s activity as one who calls us. Several years ago, I wrote an article on “Call, Calling” for the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. I began this article by focusing on “The God Who Calls.” Here’s what I wrote:

In Pauline theology, calling is not so much something believers have as it is something God does in their lives (1 Cor 1:9). Calling is so essential to God’s activity that Paul can refer to God simply as “the one who called you” (Gal 1:6 NRSV; see 1 Thes 5:24).

God calls people on the basis of God’s own sovereign choice and purpose (Rom 8:28-30). One’s calling does not depend on one’s own works or worthiness (though one is to walk worthy of our calling; see section 5 below). Rather, God calls people “according to [God’s] own purpose and grace” (2 Tim 1:9 NRSV; also Gal 1:6).

Seeing the Christian life in terms of calling underscores the authority and initiative of God. Those who know God through Christ are not initiators in this relationship but responders to the initiating, calling God.

I do not object to the common use of “calling” to refer to something we sense, affirm, and choose to guide our lives. You can rightly say you have a calling to your work, your family, your faith, and so on. But we need to remember that we have a calling because God calls us. Though I sometimes speak of my calling in life, my calling is really God’s calling in my life. Thus, when I say I have a calling, implicitly I’m saying that my life is guided and governed by the divine Caller.

We need to remember that we have a calling because God calls us.

2 Timothy 1:9 reveals that God “called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace” (NRSV). The calling of God is a result of God’s purpose, which is coupled with divine grace. Notice that purpose in this context isn’t something we have chosen to direct our lives. Rather, purpose is something God has and acts upon. The Greek word translated as purpose can also be rendered as “plan, resolve, or will” (BADG, prothesis). However we understand our purpose in life, we must be sure to see our purpose in light of God’s greater purpose or plan for all things, including us.

Thus, in 2 Timothy we encounter a close relationship between purpose and calling. But in this letter, purpose is something that belongs to God, and calling is something God does in our lives because of this purpose. By grace and according to the divine purpose, God calls us to a new way of living through the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Purpose and Calling in Romans 8

We find a similar connection between purpose and calling in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (NRSV, emphasis added). As in 2 Timothy 1, in this verse “purpose” refers not to our purpose in life but rather to God’s purpose for all things. This verse uses the same word for purpose found in 2 Timothy 1:9 (prothesis).

Romans 8 affirms that God’s purpose includes calling us. But to what are we called? Yes, like in 2 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy, we are called into a saving relationship with God through God’s grace in Christ. But that’s not all. In Romans 8 we are also called to participate in God’s purpose for all things. As N.T. Wright observes in his book Into the Heart of Romans, “God’s purposes are going ahead, and he recruits – that is, he calls – human beings to share in those purposes, as Genesis 1 always indicated he would do.”

Let me say this even more directly: It is God’s purpose to call you into sharing in God’s purpose for all things. Calling isn’t so much something you figure out and manage as it is something God does that you receive, embrace, and live. Yes, you do have a calling . . . because God has called you. Yes, you do have a purpose . . . because God has called you to live in light of God’s own purpose.

Calling isn’t so much something you figure out and manage as it is something God does that you receive, embrace, and live.

Purpose and Calling in Genesis 1

As N.T. Wright points out, this conception of purpose is found, not only in Romans 8, but also in the first chapter of the Bible. In Genesis 1, we encounter God’s purpose for the world. God creates a very good world with the intent that it be fruitful and full.

But, strikingly, God does not create a world that is already completely fruitful and full. Instead, God’s plan for the world involves people like us. God creates human beings in God’s own image and likeness (1:26-27). Then, in verse 28, God gives these creatures their first task, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion….” God chooses to fulfill the divine purpose for the world through the work of human beings. Thus, what has been God’s purpose has become our purpose as well.

How does God let us know this? In Genesis 1:28 God blesses and speaks to the first humans, giving them the first commandment to appear in the Bible (“Be fruitful and multiply . . .”). We might rightly say this is God’s calling to human beings. God calls us to join with God in the work of being fruitful, multiplying, filling, and governing the world. God calls us to live in light of God’s purpose for creation and its creatures.

Called to a Relationship with God

Though we are called by God to fulfill God’s purpose by engaging in crucial tasks, when we consider the broader teaching of Scripture, we recognize that our calling is centered in a relationship with God. As Os Guinness writes in The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life,

“[C]alling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.”

We see a striking example of the relational core of Christian calling in Mark 3, where Jesus “called to him those he wanted” (3:13). Then “he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (3:14, emphasis added). Jesus called the twelve to share in his messianic work. He called them to live in light of his own purpose, making his purpose their purpose. But Mark highlights the fact that Jesus called his disciples not only to purposeful endeavors, but first of all “to be with him.” Discipleship begins and is nurtured in a relationship with God.

In her book Make Work Matter, Michaela O’Donnell explains the multi-layered nature of our calling by using the analogy of Russian nesting dolls. She writes,

We have an innermost calling from God—the most sacred and core calling to belong to Jesus. From there, more nesting dolls are added, each representing another layer of God’s calling to us. I want to suggest four layers of God’s calling: the call to belong to Christ, the call to work toward redemption, the call to create, and the call to particulars.

Notice that the center doll of calling is “the call to belong to Christ.” Thus, when it comes to our purpose in life, we share in God’s purpose, not merely because it guides our behavior, and not merely because God expects us to do so, but mainly because we are in a grace-filled, purpose-filled relationship with the triune God.

Purpose and Calling in the Third Third of Life

As I wrap up this article, I’d like to spell out as clearly as I can the implications of what I believe Scripture says to you about purpose and calling, based on 2 Timothy 1, Romans 8, Genesis 1, and other related passages.

1. God has a purpose for all things, including you.

2. Your central purpose in life is to participate with God in God’s purpose for creation and redemption.

3. God has called you, according to God’s own purpose and grace, to share in God’s purposeful work in the world.

4. When you speak of your purpose as a calling, you underscore the fact that you have received your purpose from God, who has called you into a relationship with God and into sharing in God’s purposeful work in the world.

5. Yes, you have purpose and calling in the third third of life because the purposeful God has called you, inviting you to live guided by God’s own purpose. Embracing this truth is an essential step in the path to discerning your distinctive purpose and calling in life.