Ephesians 4:1-3 "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, (2) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; (3) Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Walk worthy. How many times do we think about those two words? The first three chapters speak of God's grace and mercy that has been bestowed upon us. We are reminded of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in applying that blood of redemption to our lives. In Chapter 3, we are reminded that we are part of the family of God. As I typed those words just now, I could hear our father saying to me, "Remember who you are." He was telling me that my actions reflect, not only on me, but all my family. Remember who you belong to. God, our Heavenly Father, says to us, "Walk worthy of that calling." This tells me that along with the grace of God that has been freely given to me, there is a responsibility to reflect God's love in my daily walk.
He tells us how to do it. "With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love..." Paul had much to say in
all of his letters about showing meekness and humility in our lives. We are to
show patience, not only in our own thoughts, but also in our actions toward one
another. You don't have to drive very far down the road to see that patience is
a much needed commodity in our society. Horns honk. Tempers flare. Bumpers are
ridden by the car behind you. You can read lips to tell that patience is
lacking in many areas. Then Paul tells us to walk worthy by "forbearing
one another in love." What is that saying to us? If I could put it in my
own language, Paul is saying we need to just "put up with each
other." None of us are perfect and you can put me at the top of that list
of imperfection, but we need to show patience and kindness to own another for
Christ's sake. We are to seek to keep the bond of peace, for you see that is
what holds us together. Christ is our peace and has broken down the middle wall
of partition. (See Chapter 2) That wall between us and God was broken
down. The wall between Jew and Gentile was broken down. The wall between you
and me was broken down. And it was done through the broken body and shed blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us all seek to maintain that bond of peace in
love for Christ and one another.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
Chorus: And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land.
We Will work with each other, we will work side by side;
We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride.
All praise to the Father, from whom all things come;
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son.
And all praise to the Spirit who makes us one.