Everyday Heroes: The Refusal of the Call 3

There is a point at which one needs to refuse God's call, if only to be honest with one's self. Moses' objection to God's call allows Moses time to consider what that call might mean. Refusal actually has the role of giving us space to consider the enormity of the moment. God's Call is a claim on my life. It is not some casual invitation to take a spin on the dance floor. It is a Call that has the potential to overwhelm me.

Jesus says this, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundaiton, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saing, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace." Luke 14:28-32

I believe that refusing the Call of God is not altogether bad. The way the Hero's Journey is described is that it is a necessary part of being Called. It is describing those who take the Call seriously enough to say with Moses, "Who am I?!"

One of my favorite stories in Lewis is in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". It is the scene with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and the children when they first find out about Aslan.

"Oh, yes! Tell us about Aslan!" said several voices at once; for once again that strange feelling - like the first signs of spring, like good news, had come over them.
"Who is Aslan?" asked Susan...

After a brief description Susan speaks up.

"But shall we see him?" asked Susan.
"Why, Daughter of Eve, that's what I brought you here for. I'm to lead you where you shall meet him," said Mr. Beaver.
"Is - is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

Susan expresses the thought everyone has. Will he leave me alone?! I should be rather afraid of meeting a lion. And that's right. The children don't refuse the call, but it is marked by a wise hesitancy. Susan and the others, though attracted to the idea, are also afraid. As they should be. This is what is meant in the Bible as the "Fear of the Lord". To be overwhelmed or awed by God, even to the point of flight is not foolish. It's quite the right response.

Rather than judge past refusals of God's Call on our lives as being negative or cowardly or bad, can we see them as having a good degree of common sense? We are right to count the cost of following Jesus - it will mean our very lives. But it is also true that to continually refuse will cost us our lives as well.

So what do we learn from our fear of accepting God's Call? We learn that it is a natural part of the journey. But it is not the last word on the journey. We have time to join in. Not all the time in the world, but time. One thing for sure is that we should count the cost of heeding Christ's Call. But we should also count the cost of refusing Christ's Call.