Called Into God’s Purpose

Scripture — Romans 8:28 (NRSV)

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Devotion

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw a strong relationship between purpose and calling, though not what we might have expected. In 2 Timothy 1:9, God is described as the one “who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.” Calling, in this verse, is something God does, which we receive. Purpose is something God has that leads to God calling us.

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

Romans 8 echoes 2 Timothy, though adding different nuances. For example, notice the emphasis in Romans on loving God. Those who “love God” are “called according to his purpose.” This suggests that when it comes to our purpose in life, our loving relationship with God is essential. The deeper our relationship with God, the more we will know God’s purpose for us. And the more we know God’s love for us, the more we will be eager to live according to God’s purpose. Moreover, it’s important to say here that growing in relationship with God is an essential facet of our purpose in life.

Romans 8 affirms that God’s purpose includes calling us. But to what are we called? Yes, like in 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” (p. 166).

Earlier in this series, God’s Purpose – Your Purpose, I offered a devotion based on Genesis 1:28. It was called “Purpose and Fruitfulness.” I put the main point of that devotion in this way: “Genesis 1 reveals that fruitfulness is central to our purpose as beings created in the image of God. God has made us so that what we do really matters, not only for human benefit but also and primarily for God’s own glory. As we help the world to be fruitful through our fruitfulness, we are fulling God’s purpose for all things, including us.” This explains Wright’s comment about how God calls human beings to share in God’s purposes, “as Genesis 1 always indicated he would do.” From the very beginning, from creation itself, God made us and called us to share in God’s purpose in the world. Romans 8 reaffirms this fundamental truth. We are called by God’s purpose into God’s purpose.

I’ve given you a heavy dose of biblical theology in this devotion. As I conclude, I’d like to summarize in a way that speaks directly to you. It is God’s purpose for you to participate in God’s purposeful work in the world. So that you might do this, God’s purpose for all things and for you leads to God calling you into God’s work. What was true in creation as revealed in Genesis 1 is reaffirmed in the new creation in Romans 8. God, according to God’s purpose, has called you into a relationship with God and into sharing in God’s work. Now that, I might suggest, is a high calling, indeed!

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Eagerly Awaiting Bodily Redemption for Ourselves and God’s Creation (Romans 8:18–30).