Because God Says So--January 22, 2026

Because God Says So--January 22, 2026

"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)

Despite all of our efforts to the contrary to make it one, the church is not a social club.

Regardless of our culture's way of seeing everything as a product to be consumed, the church is not merely the assembly of paying customers.

The church is not merely an employer for which we must get ourselves hired, nor a team for which we must try out. We belong in this community because we are called.

That makes a world of difference to the ways we live, work, pray, and love together in this community of Jesus' followers.  We are here because God has called us and Christ has claimed us, not because I won the audition or used my influence to get in.  Our belonging is a gift, and it comes from God. That's where we start our identity in Christ--not as audience members who have shelled out money to be entertained, but as a community which God has made holy.  Customers and audience members call the shots--after all, "the customer is always right" in our culture. And they can come and go as they please; if another brand is selling something flashier at the store down the street, you can just take your business elsewhere, because you are the one in charge.  But if we are here because God has called us, then we aren't in control--God is.  If we are here because God has given us both a place to belong and a vocation to live out, then we aren't consumers, but partners in a community.  If we are here by God's call, then I don't get to judge somebody else's worthiness to sit at the table with me--God is the One who has that prerogative, and God has drawn them to be there.

For the early church, that distinction was what set the church apart from the countless other social organizations, guilds, tribes, and other groups in the Roman Empire and the wider Greco-Roman world.  And you can hear Paul leaning into that distinct character in these opening words from his first letter to the Corinthians, which many of us heard in worship this past Sunday.  Paul describes himself in terms of being "called"--he is an apostle, not because he had the best test scores, not because used his influence and leverage to force his way onto the Board of Directors to get himself that job, and not because he just wanted to be one. Rather, Paul is an apostle--a person "sent" by Christ as a witness to the world--because God called him into that identity.  (You might remember, in fact, that Paul really only got into the Christian community because the risen Christ got a hold of him on the Damascus Road and pulled him, sometimes kicking and screaming into the arms of grace.)  So Paul himself starts from a place of being called.  There's not a whiff of "I earned this spot" or "I paid for this title" or "I'm just doing this for as long as it's fun, and then I'll bail out and take up underwater basket-weaving." Paul is here, not because of his influence, status, goodness, or even his volunteering for it--but by the power of God's call.

And then Paul says the same about the Christians to whom he is writing. For all of their many differences--there are rich and poor, Jewish and Gentile, enslaved and free, educated and uneducated, women and men, high class and no class--they all belong because they have been "called." And in fact, they have been "called to be saints"--that is, to be holy, distinct, and unique in the world by the ways they come to reflect God's character.  You don't hear Paul trying to work the crowd with a sales pitch or intimidating them into joining the church through bully tactics. He simply says, "You all have been called by God into this new way of life--God's call is what makes you saints, and God's call is what says you belong."

Like I say, that is so different from the ways our culture still typically thinks about belonging in groups.  In our society, I might join a club if it seems fun to me, or if my friends are already in it, and then what makes us belong is the pull of my social capital or our likemindedness or common interests.  In our society, I might go to the movies or a concert as a paying customer, but if I don't like the story or the sound, I could go and find something else to entertain me next time.  In so many social situations for us, you go as long as it's convenient, and you stay as long as you think you are getting your money's worth (because you see yourself as a consumer). But within the community called "church," it's different: we are here because we are called, and we stay because God's call pulls us together. For all the ways we are different, all the things we disagree about, all the diversity of our stories, backgrounds, viewpoints, and situations, what brings us together is God's call.

Belonging in such a community is, honestly, countercultural. To be a part of the church--to be a disciple of Jesus--is to say, in effect, "I'm not just here when it feels good, or when I feel entertained at the moment. I'm not here because I think I've earned this spot through my achievements or pulled some strings with the gatekeepers to get into a club. I'm here because God called me here, and I can't not answer." In a culture like ours where folks bail out on obligations when it gets difficult, or where I'm used to "taking my business elsewhere" when someone says something that challenges or stretches me, it is a counter-cultural thing to say, "I belong here, even when staying is challenging, because God has called me here.  I continue to serve here because God has led me to this place and there is work to be done."  It is countercultural to admit, "I'm not calling the shots; I have been called to this place, and God intends to make something of me that I cannot make out of myself on my own."

In the end, the Christian community is less like a fraternity or sorority you pledge to get into (and endure hazing in order to earn a place there), and less like a paid membership to a country club (which you can always leave to join another that boasts a bigger golf course or fancier decor); it's more like the old Elvis song, discovering that you "can't help falling in love" with the God who has called you, and the other people who are also called by this same God.  And if you are tired of the shallow-commitments of club membership or the fearful fragility of groups from which you can be kicked out if you don't fit in well enough, that is deeply good news.  We belong in Christ because God says so.  In fact, we belong because God has called our names.

Lord God, open our ears today to hear your call to us, assuring us that we belong, and summoning us to serve with one another for the long haul.