From the very beginning, the community that God was forming was going to be much more inclusive than anyone could have imagined.
There are important historical reasons for making a distinction between ministry and vocation.
It appeared everything would work out perfectly when Ivan the Great married Sophia Palaiologos. But when inheritance was discussed the problems arrived.

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We’ve been desperate—and it is a gift of God when we are, when we realize our lost condition!
If I'm honest, when I survey my life I don't exude much contentment.
Forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and eternal life aren't handed out by God because we deserve it.
Wisdom speaks in proverbs, parables and riddles. And the simple continue to wander right past her words of life.
One of my favorite shows in recent memory is the American law enforcement drama Law & Order.
In other words, they had too much religion and not enough Yahweh. Or, to put it in New Testament terms, they worked so hard at being religious that they put Jesus out of work.
Though they have never left the church, they have been lost all the while.
When I first began to hear that the Bible’s good news was a whole lot less about me and a whole lot more about Christ, I just didn’t get it.
In Christian terms, this is a perfect example of the doctrine of vocation, where God calls us to serve our neighbor.
With the proclamation that grace and peace come through the bloody suffering and death of Jesus, we're awoken to the fact that God's grace covers all our sin and His peace calms our busy heart and mind.
But that’s the way he rolls, isn't it? By misquoting, manipulating, and ripping God’s word out of context, the devil wields it as a weapon to drive us to doubt and pride.
I don't remember the first time I heard the gospel, but I do remember the first time I began to understand it.