Everyone has a calling on their lives – pastor

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” Ephesians 4:1-6

MANY ARE of the view that the Creator only calls pastors, evangelists and other individuals who hold positions of authority in ministry. But Pastor Dean Thompson is of the firm belief that everyone has a calling on their lives with the unique gifts they were given to be used for the furtherance of God’s work.

“There are persons who have several gifts and talent, and whatever it is, it can be used for good and it can be used to do God’s work,” Thompson said.

The pastor of the Bog Walk district of Seventh-day Adventist Churches said he has been in the ministry for the last nine years, but received his own call while he was a teacher.

“I always had a passion for church work and I held several offices in the church. I also loved teaching but I just found more satisfaction doing church work. When it came time for me to resign from teaching, I wondered if I was making the right decision as my wife was pregnant at the time,” he told Family and Religion.

He said while others questioned his decision, his wife supported his plans as she, too, had seen the call of God on his life.

“I went to study Religion and Theology at Northern Caribbean University, and just to see how everything worked out was confirmation that I was doing what God wanted me to do,” he noted.

Thompson said more often than not, people will see the call on your life before you do and will likely push you to acknowledge that there is a divine plan for your gifts.

“God can call an individual for different reasons in different ways, and that call is revealed sometimes through someone who sees how good you are in a particular area.”

Thompson said prior to giving his life to God he had a number of run-ins with law, and from early recognised that his life was meant for more through the grace his then pastor extended to him.

“A year after I got baptised, I had a matter that was still in court, but I didn’t tell anyone at church. When it became overwhelming and I saw nothing but hopelessness, I told my pastor about it and he went above and beyond the call of duty and even accompanied me to court,” he noted.

“This resulted in my life being transformed. Throughout my Christian journey, I looked back at how my pastor impacted my life and I knew that was how I wanted to impact someone else’s life, hence why I ended up in teaching,” he added.

Thompson said it is through those who acknowledge the call on their lives why others are able to look on and realise that they, too, have a calling.

“I lived to be able to help an elderly man just the same way my then pastor helped me. I was able to take him to the police stations, to the court and see everything work out. I have dealt with young persons in desperate situations and because of what I went through, I was able to help them.”

Even as we struggle to cope in this pandemic, Thompson said every individual must take a deeper look at what God has called them to do and align their actions to His work.

“In these times there is a lot of hopelessness. We need to make a difference by sharing with people that there is hope. I believe these are times we need to point people to Jesus. When you are faced with trouble, it doesn’t help to be focusing on the trouble, but to draw closer to Jesus. Through your gifts, you can point people to Jesus, to The One that gives us hope,” he ended.