Are You Called to Preach?

This song is a test, and you should know it was written by a man who has never been given a pulpit. I will speak candidly, without a doubt I am called to preach. I preach every day here on the website. And I do earnestly desire to stand in front of the saints as often as possible and deliver the good news of Christ. But that has not been given to me. Another preacher had me in his preaching rotation and removed me. And I am not bitter about it. It makes it honest. When you have had the platform taken away and the call did not leave with it, you learn fast which parts of preaching were ever the point.

So the song strips them off, one by one. Not for financial gain. Not for fame. Not for reach. Not even, it says plainly, for becoming a pastor or priest - the title is not the call either. You don't need eloquence or skill. Everything a man would naturally want out of standing up front, the song removes, until only one thing is left standing: for Christ alone, for all my days. If that one thing is not your reason, the song says, you were not called. You were ambitious.

And it tells you the cost up front, in Luther's company: expect to be misunderstood, and even hated. A true call does not come with a salary or applause. It comes with a fire you did not light and cannot put out, and a fair amount of being disliked for it. I have preached for free, and I have preached after being told I was not wanted. This song is the reason both of those were fine. The call was never about the platform. It was always about the One who gave it.