A Verse For The Rest Of Our Lives

"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 


I was once asked "What do you do when you're done reading the Bible?" The questioner didn't want to know procedurally what I did each day after reading the Bible. Instead, they wanted to know what comes after the Bible. Once you have it "figured out", what's next? Like Algebra to Calculus. I can't remember my exact answer back then, but Eph 4:1 strikes me as a good answer today. You keep plumbing the depths.

As I prayerfully read Eph 4 this morning, verse 1 struck me (again) as a verse that deserves to be emblazoned on our hearts and minds for the remainder of our lives. And not simply as some sort of neo-legalism, as if our walk gains us points with God. Rather it is a form of reverent worship, a form of grateful service, a form of humble proclamation that Christ alone has given us everything and we owe him all that we are.

In a very real sense, the gospel is at stake in this verse. Have you been called? That's grace! Are you worthy of it? That's mercy. Can you walk in it? That's the Holy Spirit. Do you feel Paul's urgency? That's is the compelling love of Christ.

Perhaps, by the grace of God, today Eph 4:1 will become a banner over our lives and each of us will walk in manner worthy of the calling we have received in Christ.

To God Alone be the Glory