WALK THIS WAY

EPHESIANS 4:1-3 NKJ 
4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

OBSERVATION: 

Paul had a pattern in his letters to the churches. We always have to keep in mind that Paul is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so this is God's pattern.   

Paul starts his letters with spiritual truths and reveals the riches we have in Christ. We see these truths in the first three chapters of Ephesians.  

Now in chapters 4-6, we see the application of what these spiritual truths are to look like in our everyday lives. The objective is not that we stop with knowing about and rejoicing in these great spiritual realities. The goal is that we incorporate these new realities into our lives.   

Walk worthy of the calling of God on your life. Paul did not limit this charge to the preachers because we are all called of God. We may not all have the same job, but we are called to glorify God and advance His kingdom.   

This calling is so valuable. It means we all have a part, a role, in God's eternal kingdom. This calling is highly important, and we are to dignify His calling with our lives.   

Much of chapter four has to do with what walking worthy  looks like. And Paul starts with how we treat our family in the Lord.   

Humility, gentleness, and putting up with one another in the right spirit. We are not going to be able to walk worthy of our calling and treat other believers wrong. Later in the chapter, Paul talks about not lying, stealing, and speaking unkind, harsh words. Not bitter angry and blowing people up on social media (my interpretation).   

Rather we are to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.   

But I haven't digressed from my main topic, walking worthy. We are acting in this manner in order to shine a positive light on our calling and represent God's kingdom well. Much more than just being nice, this is God's will for us.   

APPLICATION: 

This entire devotional deals with applying what has been done in us in Christ to our everyday life, our walk. A key thought is that our walk reflects on the God we love, the Jesus we serve, and the gospel we believe. Walk this way, walk worthy.   

PRAYER: 

Dear Lord, show me how to walk in a way that reflects You well. I desire to walk worthy of my calling.