Alone with the gospel

Think of the great callings of the Old Testament. There was often the ultimate surrender: the loss of calling. So many men stake their identity on their calling, as if calling transcends who you are, as if work is more important than being. Yet God in His great wisdom strips men even of their God-given callings, eroding them to nothing, so all that they have left is a basic and fundamental definition of themselves in the gospel. Naked you stand before the gospel. In the gospel there is no place to hide. The gospel tolerates no concealment and forbids all excuse. If you encounter the gospel, you are alone with the gospel. You cannot substitute yourself out, or replace yourself with some fanciful projection of who you ought to be. You are alone with the gospel. It is the place that you meet yourself. It takes a brave man to meet the gospel; yet only a free man walks away from an encounter with the gospel. It is the only place on earth that bravery produces freedom as a guarantee. The gospel will define you so that your work doesn't have to. It is our confidence and our stamina to be who we are. God calls souls to Himself long before He calls them to His work. The latter should never trump the former.