Linked In Devotional Day 16: A life worthy of our calling Ephesians 4:1-6: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” When we begin to understand that we are chosen in Christ, that we are made truly and fully alive in Him and that we are empowered in Him, it must begin to change the way we live our everyday lives. Paul sets out the position and status that Christ-followers have in Him in the first three chapters of Ephesians, reminding the young church that they have all the eternal riches and blessings of God available to them, that they have His favour and acceptance over their lives and that the God they serve is able to do anything. Then he pleads with them here in Ephesians 4, in light of all of this, to live a life worthy of their calling. Ephesians 1-3 is all about our identity in Christ and the next 3 chapters examine our responsibility and response in light of our identity. We have been given life that is truly life in Jesus, so what will we do with it? We have been saved by grace, so how will this change our daily interactions and pursuits? How will we live up to the high calling to be God’s children and His representatives in this world? In these verses, Paul gives us some practical tips for how to begin to allow the truth of the Gospel message to transform our lives. He instructs us to: - Be humble, patient and gentle. - To bear with one another in love – in other words, to be longsuffering and forgiving, responding to others with the love and grace of Christ. - To keep unity and peace, remembering that we are all united in Christ despite any other dividing factors that may exist between us. Life in Christ is all about a personal relationship and connection with Jesus, but it is lived out in the practical day to day way we interact with others. This is how we live out our calling as the people of God – by allowing God’s love for us to transform us so that we can love others with His love.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 07:00:00 +0000
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