“To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance” (Jude 1:1-2).

Each of us have been called to serve our mighty God in a unique way. But we may become so busy fulfilling our call that we focus on the doing. We want to do better—to write well, to teach effectively, to do whatever we’ve been called to do to the best of our ability.

Yet our ability is limited. We struggle with our inadequacy as we represent the King of Kings, and we seek His enabling to accomplish His purposes.

To be conscious of our calling is to serve with an awareness of the privilege of being used by God to advance His kingdom. But that’s only a partial picture of what it means to be called. In the New Testament, Jude made a point of addressing his epistle to those who are called, loved, and kept.

We can be so busy ministering the love of God to everyone else that it’s easy to forget we’re also recipients of that same love. We are loved by the God of love, not because we serve, but because He lavishly pours out His love on us as a result of Jesus Christ’s atoning work.

Not only are we loved with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), we are also kept. Our Heavenly Father sustains us and protects us. He holds us in the palm of His hand and there’s no safer place to be.

He saves us by the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross, and He seals us by His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). We have everything we need to do all He has called us to do. More importantly, we have everything we need to be all that He has called us to be—chosen, loved, adopted, redeemed, and sealed.

When we understand who we are—and who we belong to—God releases His power in us and through us to serve Him. The order is important. Identity comes before service. Being comes before doing. Reveling in His mercy, peace, and love comes before ministry in His name.

Before you write your next chapter, teach your next class, or answer the twenty emails sitting in your Inbox, take a moment to remind yourself, “I am loved with a lavish, everlasting love. It has nothing to do with what I do, but it has everything to do with who I am: a beloved child of the King kept by His almighty hand.”

Once we understand God’s love and His keeping, we are free to serve Him without fear, equipped in every way to fulfill the purpose to which we are called.