Pastor Walt is away working and traveling. Please enjoy this repost from 2018.

ALL CALL
 
One of the most irritating things about living in a dormitory was the “All Call.”  It did not happen often in my experience but I always had the same reaction. Why are they calling everybody?  Can’t they just call on the people that really need to know this? I’m busy, which was a very loose definition of that concept, but it seemed like an unwanted interruption to my life by some authority who had the right to hit a button that called us all.
 
Have you considered that there might be an "all call" relating to you right now? And as always with God, it is not about Him having a need, it’s about our needs.
 
Let me illustrate--there is a repeating story that crosses time and culture about the person who achieves wealth and fame only to find themselves totally dissatisfied with their life. In the United States, we even have the mocking ironic phrase, “Poor little rich kid.”
 
It seems evident that lives spent in self-indulgence are lives that end with regret.
 
Even Solomon who had a great opportunity to be one of the people who most impacted the history of man ends his life in regret. He calls most of his pursuits “soap bubbles” and “a chasing after the wind.” Wisdom did not satisfy, wealth left him questioning succession, pleasure faded to grey, and his last life commentary is full of complaints. (See Ecclesiastes)
 
So what is it that leaves the wealthy and talented of the past and the present full of regret?
 
A life lived to its fullest is a life lived for purposes greater than oneself.  Everything gained on planet earth is hollow in the end. Great buildings fall, and great meals last only ‘til satiation is achieved. Scholarly pursuits last only as long as the brain can hang on to them. What is it that really brings meaning into our lives?
 
One is people. Great relationships bless you and allow you to share yourself. They can outlive you if you give yourself, your knowledge, your experience away. Even on our last day, we want to be surrounded by people that we love.
 
When you consider the things that matter most in life, they all involve a common thread – Giving.  Giving yourself is the only way to have influence beyond the grave. Giving your time is the only way to extend the impact of your breath. Giving of your talent, money, and skills will make those things outlast you.
 
The ultimate satisfaction is finding our eternal purposes or callings.
 
As a believer in Jesus, there is no greater achievement than to be involved in helping another person find salvation. The joy of knowing that you may have had an impact on another person being saved can’t be found in anything else.
 
That, my believing friend, is our ALL CALL!  Every one of us is given the blessing of sharing that one most important gift with others. We all have our own style but the call is unmistakably each of ours.
 
What causes all the heartbreak among some of the rich and famous? Missing the eternal in their lives!
 
Reflecting on the Important,
 
 
Walt