KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)—-God’s calling is not a profession; it is a passion, said Paul Negrut, president of the Romanian Baptist Union and president of Emmanuel University in Ordea.
“Do you have a sense of God’s calling?” Negrut asked in a chapel message at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
“We are called with authority for He is the Master,” Negrut said. “He is the God who called the universe into being, the God who called us to Christ, the God who demands that we respond to the call of the ministry.”
Negrut said he personally struggled with God’s calling until he could run away no longer.
“The calling is not a hobby,” he said. “It’s not a fad or a popularity contest. It is a calling for hard work.”
Negrut based his Feb. 18 message on Luke 19:11-27, Jesus’ parable of the 10 minas (a mina equaling about three months’ wages in Bible times).
In the parable, a certain nobleman was about to leave for a faraway country and entrusted to 10 of his slaves 10 minas with which they were to do business. Upon his return, he requested a meeting with the slaves so that he might know what business they had done. Two slaves reported that they had made money for the master, the first having generated 10 more minas, the second five more. The master was pleased with the faithful slaves and rewarded them by giving them authority over 10 and five cities, respectively.
A third slave, however, said that out of fear of the master he had not generated any business with his minas and had hidden them in a handkerchief. The master was furious, calling him a worthless slave. As a result, his 10 minas were taken from him and given to the man who had generated 10 more minas. The master also ordered that the slave be slain in his presence.
“The faithful servants couldn’t stand still,” Negrut observed. “Inspired by the master’s calling, they responded immediately. They were visionaries. They had a passion for the master’s work.”
Besides calling, vision and passion, Negrut said a faithful servant is known by his integrity. Negrut noted that the unfaithful servant had the most to say to the master, with a 43-word speech. The faithful servants only said seven words each to the master.
“Charisma without character is catastrophe,” Negrut said. “The servant who lacked integrity was all talk. Look for the fruits.”
Negrut concluded by noting that the faithful Christian will receive a commendation, just as the nobleman voiced to his faithful servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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