Ephesian 4
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling,
for you have been called by God.
2 Always be humble
and gentle.
Be patient with each other,
making allowance for each other's faults
because of your love.
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit,
binding yourselves together with peace.
4 For there is one body
and one Spirit,
just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
6 and one God and Father,
who is over all
and in all
and living through all.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, 1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling,
for you have been called by God.
2 Always be humble
and gentle.
Be patient with each other,
making allowance for each other's faults
because of your love.
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit,
binding yourselves together with peace.
4 For there is one body
and one Spirit,
just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
6 and one God and Father,
who is over all
and in all
and living through all.
rage,
anger,
harsh words,
and slander,
as well as all types of evil behavior.
32 Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
The longer I live, the more I believe that as Christ followers our job, our highest calling, the thing we're all about is to love people.
Not to judge them. (That is God the Father's job.)
Not to make them "see the error of their ways". (That's the Holy Spirit's job.)
Nor is it our job to "set things right" here in this world.
Our task, the thing that is to define us is the way we love people.
Jesus himself said it in John 13:35...
"This is how all men will know that you are my disciples, because you have such love for one another."
But that is not how the world sees us.
They see us as judgemental,
closed minded,
unaccepting,
cranky & crabby,
more than just a little stupid,
weird,
impractical,
insufferable,
arrogant,
& out of touch with reality.
And that's on a good day ;-)
As Lynn & I live our lives up here in NE GA USA there doesn't seem to be a whole lot we have control over anymore.
But there is one thing we can do...
...we can love people...
...and not feel compelled to always see results of that loving.
Peter Scholte wrote this song in the mid 1960's, so it is a song that plays in my head when I think about what God has called us to be in this world.
Go to YouTube & watch a video of it. It has the simple, innocent, naive feel of so many of the songs from the '60's.
But I guess the singular thought that our highest calling is to love others well may seem rather simple, innocent, & naive.
They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love - Peter Scholte
vs 1: We are One in The Spirit,
We are One in The Lord.
We are One in The Spirit,
We are One in The Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
chorus: And they'll know we are Christians by our love,
By our Love,
Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.
vs 2: We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
Chorus
vs 3: We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
Chorus
vs 4: We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand.
We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand.
And together we'll spread the News
that God is in our land.
Chorus
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