“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)
If you have been reading my works very long you know I have been all about peace. Peace in my home, peace in my work, and peace in my relationships. This is a fairly new experience for me, so I am really learning how to protect and enjoy this lifestyle.
Yet I find myself from time-to-time surrounded by dissention and division. There are those who aren’t happy with maintaining a healthy, positive environment. They seem to find their happiness in stirring up strife and contention – then complain because of the toxicity of the very environment they created! Such is my present situation at work.
I know God put me here to be a light in the darkness, to be a reflection of His love and mercy, but wow – really God? I’m going to be totally transparent with you on this one because I suspect there are others who have felt the way I have. All my life I have been taught to avoid the very appearance of evil – to avoid sinners, to stay away from anywhere that isn’t a church. They have used scriptures like, “Come apart and be ye separate…” and “What communion hath light with darkness?” They would wax long about how we are in this world but not of this world and how just the mere walking by a magazine stand would expose me to demons jumping off the stand and into my spirit. For years the church has propagated such mindless drivel to the point that we are no longer relevant or reachable by the very ones Jesus died to save.
Certainly I don’t frequent houses of ill repute, porn shops, taverns, or crack houses (although they have been comfort zones for me in the past). I know it would be foolish for me to re-enter places that trigger me to sin – if not in the flesh, most certainly in my mind. I try to be conscious to offer up my body a living sacrifice to God – to keep it sanctified to Him. I have my faults and weaknesses like any other human being, but for the most part I allow the Holy Spirit to curb those areas. I still have a long way to go, but God’s goodness and mercy are with me and my desire is totally for Him.
Where am I going with all of this? Well, Paul challenges us to walk worthy of our vocation or calling. We are called sons and daughters of God. We are called a nation of priests and kings. We are called a holy nation. We are called to be little Christs (Christians). We are called to be holy even as He is holy. We are called to be on earth what He is in heaven. And these are just a few of the things the Bible says about us.
We are called to live our lives with all lowliness and meekness – to be humble before God and others. Not weak or self-effacing, but humble. None is more humble than the one who can destroy but holds it in check. We have the power and authority of Jesus Christ within us – the same power that Elijah had when he called down fire from heaven to kill those who came to take him. The same power that withered up the fig tree from the roots overnight. The same power that Moses had when he pronounced the plagues on the Egyptians. We have that same power and more! Yet, in our humility we contain that power and direct it toward the healing of the nations. We use that power to deliver those held in bondage by Satan. We use that power to release those are in captivity to vices and temptations of the flesh. We use that power to restore sight to the blind, mobility to the lame, etc, etc. But we do it in love and humility.
We are told to live our lives with longsuffering and forbearance toward one another in love. That means we take into account that not everybody is as perfect as we (think we) are. We try to account for the fact that not everyone had or has a stable home life, or they may struggle with addictions we never had to face, or they may have physical and emotional damage we cannot see or understand. As such, we give each other a little slack, allow each other grace – knowing God daily gives us that same grace.
I could go on, but for the sake of brevity, today’s challenge for us is to see where those around us might need a little room, some space to process the environment and circumstances, some mercy where they may fall short of our expectations. It’s gonna rub us wrong because that goes against the grain of our natures. But we are called to be super-nature-al (supernatural) – rising above our fleshly nature. God has called us higher and wants us to help others in their development and growth. Go forth, my friends, and extend that hand of mercy toward others.
Be blessed.
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