walk worthy of your calling
Last night at a Bible study I was once again struck by a verse that has been popping up for me lately. It is from a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus, and it begins like this:
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called..." (Eph. 4:1)
And what exactly is this manner that is "worthy" of your calling?
According to Paul in the two verses that follow, it includes these things:
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Bearing others in love
Eagerness to maintain unity and peace
Easier said than done, in my experience.
Especially considering I came home from said Bible study, where (by the way) I had also led worship (a HUGE part of my "calling"), only to behave in a very un-humble, ungentle, impatient, unloving, dis-unified, non-peacable way with someone in my family.
It's impossible to walk worthy all the time, but if we want to be TRUE to who God has called us to be, we can't settle for living divided.
This morning I apologized to the person I hurt last night. It would have been better not to hurt them in the first place, but at least by apologizing I was pegging the items on Paul's list, while also removing potential barriers to continue growing in the ministry I feel called to.
Owning our wrong moves restores us to walking worthy of our calling, and prevents shame about being two-faced from gaining a foothold that silences our TRUE voice.
You are going to make mistakes. The important thing is how you choose to right the wrongs. And how long you wait to get started. (Do it quickly!)
For TRUTH...
- Constance
