Theological Foundations for Human Flourishing: Calling
The following is a summary of Dr. Ligon Duncan’s sermon.
In a fragmented world where identity is often reduced to career, performance, or personal fulfillment, many wrestle with the question: What am I called to do with my life? Dr. Duncan’s message offers a rich and deeply theological vision of calling that speaks directly into the anxiety of modern people, especially those navigating work, meaning, and faith. Grounded in the calling of Abram in Genesis 12, this message reveals that our calling is not simply about what we do, but about who we are in relationship to God. It is a call to salvation, to sacrifice, to blessing, and to service—all flowing from God’s initiative. For a generation wrestling with purpose and burdened by performance, this message reframes vocation as a gift, rooted in grace, and directed toward the flourishing of others.
In this sermon, Dr. Duncan opens with a theological reflection on the idea of calling, distinguishing between the call to salvation and the call to service—and then uniting them. Drawing from Genesis 12, he examines God’s call to Abram as a paradigm for understanding the nature of vocation. The message begins by placing the call in its narrative context: Abram is not called because of his pedigree or righteousness. He is called from idolatry and darkness into fellowship with the living God. This, Dr. Duncan emphasizes, is the foundational truth: every genuine calling begins with God’s gracious act of salvation.
The second movement of the sermon explores the cost of that call. God commands Abram to leave everything that constituted his identity—his country, his kindred, and his father’s house. Dr. Duncan explains that calling may require sacrifice, and that Christian discipleship often entails leaving behind sources of comfort and security to follow God into the unknown.
Third, the sermon highlights that God's call is not only sacrificial—it is deeply rooted in blessing. Through a sevenfold promise, God assures Abram that He will bless him, make his name great, and cause him to be a blessing to others. This is contrasted with the prideful ambition of Babel. Blessing, in God’s economy, is always gift, not grasping.
Finally, Dr. Duncan underscores that this blessing is never meant to terminate on the individual. Abram is blessed to be a blessing. Every Christian vocation—whether in ministry, business, medicine, or the arts—is a channel for God's grace to reach others. This calling finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham, through whom the ultimate blessing has come to all the nations.
Dr. Duncan concludes with a call to embrace this fourfold vision of vocation: salvation, sacrifice, blessing, and service—trusting that God’s call always leads to flourishing, both for us and for the world.