I’ve been thinking recently about what it is to be sent vs. what it is to be called. A person might have an apostolic anointing on their life – they’ve been sent by God to a specific place, people, or situation – but while all of us can (and should) be lights and signs and symbols to those around us (Matthew 5:14, Isaiah 8:18), not everyone is first and foremost an apostle. (The word “apostle” is derived from Greek words that mean “messenger” and “sent forth” – an apostle is just a person who is sent with a message, not necessarily a senior leader in a ministry.)
I know someone who has been sent by God to be an apostle. It wasn’t her aim or desire, but when He revealed it to her, she went. And while maybe you wouldn’t look at her life and immediately see the apostolic over her life, it’s there. She has been sent. She goes.
Being sent is pretty straightforward from a logic viewpoint. God anoints you, He sends you, and you go.
But there are people who go – people who are called by God to go – who aren’t apostles. They’re not sent. They’re called, instead. It is a different situation to be called vs. sent.
I like to think of it a little like this, though it’s actually more complicated. God goes with both of them; we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. But when God sends a person, it’s because He’s sending them where He isn’t. It might be a workplace, a family situation, or a people group. When God calls a person, it’s to a place that He is, currently. Maybe it’s just because He’s prepared that place, but it’s a space where He wants to work with us and build with us so that we can take Him back out of that place with us. I’m oversimplifying it, but you get the basic idea.
One important thing to remember is that neither being sent nor called is more important or more special than the other. One carries the label of “apostle” – but even that’s not necessarily a comfortable place to be, as “sent ones” are often (though most definitely not always) sent places away from family and friends and the comforts of home. And being “called” doesn’t mean your assignment is any less exciting or any more comfortable than being sent. Both have their challenges and their rewards.
Why split hairs over being sent vs. being called? It can be helpful in understanding your assignment. If you’re sent, chances are that you need to be focusing on a specific region, people group, task, or other area that you should be targeting. It’s very much worth seeking God to know who or what you’re sent to. If you’re called, the assignment will be different, because it means that you and God are going somewhere to do something that will have lasting impact but might not carry with it the message that an apostle would bring.
How do you tell the difference? There are so many nuances that I hate to codify it. The only real way to figure it out is to talk to God about it. Has He called you? Sent you? Both? Seek the Lord – He loves to reveal Himself to you!
