Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life Paperback – September 4, 2003

This book addresses a subject near and dear to my heart, a subject that has brought clarity and confusion, gratification and frustration to my life. The book is subtitled Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. I have read more than a few books and essays on this subject and have heard my share of presentations.Having said that, I sometimes feel just as mystified as I was when I first started on my journey to answer the question, “Why am I here?” And “Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?”In what Guinness calls the haunting question, he refers to Vaclav Havel, former president of the free Czech Republic and his Letters to Olga. Havel was also a playwright who spoke truth to the power of Soviet totalitarianism. His stance and actions led to four and a half years of hard labor in prison. His letters to his wife from prison join the writings of Deitrich Bonhoeffer’s WWII Letters and Papers from Prison as two of the best writings from prison.The writings focus the struggle to find meaning in life and conclude that responsibility is the key to human identity. Havel calls responsibility the “knife to carve our portraits of reality and the pen to write our stories on the scroll of history”. . .”responsibility does establish identity, be we are not responsible because of our identity, instead we have an identity because we are responsible”. In a world that seems to be turning away from personal responsibility, these are powerful thoughts.Os says that the “notion of life as karma, or the belief that your future is unchangeably written, is as far from the truth of calling as you can get”. Deep stuff, yes, but very though provoking.If you saw the Amazing Grace movie, you may remember William Wilberforce, member of the British Parliament whom Os calls the “least known great reformer in Western history”. You will likely find the connection of Wilberforce to English poet, clergyman, and former slave trader John Newton, who wrote the wonderful song, as intriguing as the movie.Okay, this is not light reading, but it is more deep than complex and is packed with quotes to treasure such as, “A man must love a thing very much if he not only practices it without any hope of fame or money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well”. This is from G. K. Chesterton, putting his own slant on the traditional proverb, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” Words to remember as I just keep on writing books that don’t sell very well.Here’s another one from Os, “Calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should be taken for granted; everything in life must be received with gratitude.”

A friend who knows me well, once remarked that my reviews are not so much review as commentaries. True enough—I do not fashion myself as a critic so much as a student of the authors that I read. Too many critics that I have known cannot write which, Kant aside, gives them little to work with as critics other than a haughty disposition. But because one must invariably read beyond one’s own talents as a writer, humility is a much more honest starting point. Such is the case for anyone reading Os Guinness’ book, The Call.Guinness states his purpose in writing with these words:“This book is for all who long to find and fulfill the purpose of their lives.” (4)Interestingly, even before setting out this mission statement, Guinness argues that life’s purposes are summarized in three perspectives: (1) the Eastern answer—forget it and forget yourself; (2) the secular answer—life has no meaning so invent one yourself; and (3) the biblical answer—we are created in the image of God and he calls us to himself. (viii-ix). While Guinness displays an encyclopedic understanding of all three of these perspectives, the center of the onion that he peels in this book is God’s call.Guinness’ encyclopedic understanding is possibly an inherited trait. Guinness recounts the story of one eighteen year-old Jane Lucretia D’Esterre, Guinness’ great-great-grandmother, who distraught over the death of her husband in 1815 in a duel, gave up the thought of suicide through drowning as she stood on a riverbank because she noticed the son of a neighbor plowing a field. “Meticulous, absorbed, skilled, he displayed such as pride in his work that the newly turned furrows looked as finely execute as the paint strokes on an artist’s canvas.” (184) Mind you, this young man plowed with a team of horses that have a mind of their own!While I might attribute this distraction as a divine intervention, Guinness describes the incident as demonstrating how: “calling transforms life so that even the commonplace and menial are invested with the splendor of the ordinary.” (185) Soon after this incident, his eagle-eyed, great-great-grandmother came to faith, suggesting that she also saw God’s in this incident. Much like God drew the Prophet Jeremiah to the work of a potter (Jer 18:1-6), this young woman saw God’s hand in a plowman’s furrows.The onion peeling characteristic of Guinness’ prose arise because he examines aspects of God’s call through narratives of famous people. One example that, as a recovering economist, I will not soon forget begins with story of Arthur Burns, a former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Burns began attending an informal White House prayer group, where he was routinely passed over in leading prayer because he was known to be Jewish. When finally asked to pray, he prayed:“Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ, Amen.” (101)Guinness sees at least three lessons to be learned from this incident:1. “…calling by its very nature reminds us that we are only followers of Christ when in fact we follow Jesus…2. calling reminds us that to be ‘a follower of the Way’ is to see life as a journey, which, while we are still alive on the earth, is an incomplete journey that cannot be finally assessed…3. calling reminds us that, recognizing all the different stages people are at, there are many more who are followers of Jesus and on the Way than we realize.” (105-108)These are, in fact, tough lessons that, in my experience, need to be learned over and over again, and that, reflecting back on Guinness, bear the markings of both patient scholarship and personal travel.As someone working on the third edit of a memoir devoted that task, I found myself spending more time in refreshing my memory of this book than I would spend reading other texts. For me, Guinness’ tying of the call to finishing well was especially meaningful.(227) He makes three points:1. “…calling is the spur that keeps us journeying purposefully…2. calling helps us to finish well because it prevents us from confusing the termination of our occupations with the termination of our vocation…3. calling helps us finish well because it encourages us to leave the entire outcome of our lives to God.” (228-231)Os Guinness’ book, The Call, is a fine read for any Christian, but especially those struggling with the meaning of their own call. Be prepared to be enthralled.

Guinness does a great job exposing calling from every angle, address common misconceptions and lifting up biblical truth. This entertaining, yet admittedly heady, read helps illustrate calling in light of history, life, the world around us, and scripture - making a slippery concept conceivable. Guinness does not pretend that he knows how to find your calling, but instead attempts to give you such a deep inderstanding of it that everything but your own calling will fall away. From someone who is "seeking God's calling on my life," I found it very enriching and encouraging.