In the last episode, you talk to writers, and I want you to talk to writers one more time.

Talk to those of us who write or who aspire to serve the church as writers.

Talk to us about calling.

Most Christian writers, it seems, write to self-express, not from a conscious conviction that

God has called them to write, and certainly not in a formal sense of calling to ministry

like a pastor maybe has.

So speak to writers, how would I know if God is calling me to this work?

God's calling in the New Testament is mainly our calling out of darkness into light.

You know that?

Everybody, I suppose, well, lots of people know that.

Our calling in conversion.

So when we speak calling, that's the way the New Testament mainly talks about it, but

it can also refer to our life work, like 1 Corinthians 7, 15.

When it does, it may mean the place God has put us, whether we like it or not, in other

words, is not driven by our desires, like slavery, Paul deals with that in 1 Corinthians

7, if you're stuck in the horrible position of slavery, that's your calling in the

moment, whether you want it or not.

It may also mean what you're able to choose, like freedom from slavery, which he also

addresses in 1 Corinthians 7.

So in that latter case, when we have some freedom to choose our life work, which most people

in the world, by the way, do not have, and they still have a calling, no, I want to make

sure I say that because I think sometimes we Westerners who have so much incredible options,

...