Walking Worthy

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

Our “calling” is what we’ve been invited into. When Paul wrote the church at Ephesus about “the calling with which you were called,” he was addressing the whole church. Thus, he was referring to the invitation every believer has received, the invitation to walk with Jesus, the invitation to enjoy a relationship with Jesus, the invitation to be a part of God’s family, and the invitation to be Jesus’ witnesses on this earth.

Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, instructed the church to walk worthy of that calling. In other words, he encouraged them to conduct their daily lives in a manner that is consistent with the privileged position we have in Christ. He was saying, “It’s time to walk the walk; not just talk the talk.” It’s time to live in such a way that our lives demonstrate what we claim to believe.

So what does “walking worthy of our calling” look like? How should we conduct ourselves?

According to this passage, we should be walking:

“….with all lowliness ,” which means having a humble opinion of one’s self, possessing a sense of littleness compared to others, being modest.

“…..with….gentleness,” which means being “meek.” It’s being considerate of other people’s feelings and thoughts.” It’s not snuffing out a smoking wick and not throwing out a bruised reed.

“....with longsuffering,” which means being patient with others, enduring with others, persevering through difficulties.

“….bearing with one another in love…” which means to stand with one another with God’s love, being willing to lay down our lives for one another.

“…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace....” which means that we’re to work diligently to guard, to protect oneness, to keep from being divided, to work to be spiritually bundled together , resting, without conflict.

Living this kind of life is ultimately for the glory of God. As we represent Him in this world, this is the kind of life that will help the world see Jesus. But this kind of walk is not only for the benefit of the world, it’s also good for each of us individually, as we seek to move forward in our walk, growing in our relationship with the Lord. Think about it….

If I commit to the concept of “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace,” then I will also refuse to accept the modern notion that the way to solve problems in relationships is to walk away from them. With the easy option of walking away is gone, there’s some work ahead, work that will result in the need for love, for patience, for wisdom, for gentleness, and for humility. Being committed to seeing problems resolved and relationships maintained will therefore result in a greater personal dependence on the Lord, an opportunity for purification and maturation. Anyone, even an unbeliever, can get upset because things aren’t working out the way they want them to and leave a relationship. It takes the strength of the Lord; it takes the empowerment of the Spirit, to stick it out, and to make every effort to work the differences out. Walking away from relationship problems will stunt a person’s spiritual growth, hinder their walk, and hurt the church’s witness in the world….

Are you at peace with fellow believers? Are you thinking about walking away from a relationship where you have a disagreement? Is there a situation you’ve walked away from instead of working for unity and peace?

Please pray and consider this life changing concept.