Hear the call

 

Teens today are actively seeking direction as evidenced by the rise and proliferation of alternative multi-faith "spiritual" pursuits and the plethora of self-help strategies. Guidance counselors, pastors, teachers, parents and concerned adults attempt to provide the best advice for teens as career and life choices are weighed and made.

 

Os Guinness, in his book, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (W Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN: 0-8499-1291-1), seizes the opportunity to address this critical need for direction, purpose and significance by boldly asserting, "Answering the call of our Creator is ‘the ultimate why' for living, the highest source of purpose in human existence. Apart from such a calling, all hope of discovering purpose will end in disappointment." Following God's call is "the supreme motivation" for living.

 

Guinness takes readers on a reflective and rewarding quest to unpack the multifaceted and often misunderstood concept of calling. He dispels the fallacy of full-time Christian service, correcting the Protestant and Catholic distortions that improperly elevate spiritual and secular life, and distinguishing between the "primary" call of God "to be" and the "secondary" call "to do" by fully integrating His call into all areas of life. Many other pitfalls are explored and explained, such as the difference between "success" and "significance," and the tendency to misuse calling in order to justify the status quo or promote perpetual change.

 

The Call is an essential book for everyone—particularly those working with or raising teens—because it provides the historical and biblical perspective on the question all people are asking, and yearning to answer, at one or more times in their lives, "What am I going to do with my life?" Each thought-provoking chapter concludes with the answer, "Listen to Jesus of Nazareth; answer his call."

     

                  —Doug West