Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
God has a purpose for each of us. Purpose is the divine assignment we are given to carry heaven on earth (will look different for everyone). Each person’s purpose is different. Each is important. Each is God-given. Yet in the uniqueness of our God-given purposes, God in His wisdom helps to recognize and discern when we are on the narrow path.
What does a “life worthy of our calling” look like?
Ephesians 4:2-3
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
In other words, no matter what your purpose – your life must always be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit requires a very important ingredient… the Holy Spirit! The fruit of the spirit can be ‘faked’ for only a time. But the fruit of the Spirit is what comes out naturally when our lives are full of the Holy Spirit.
A life worthy of our calling? It is not talent, it is not riches, it is not honour – it is a life full of the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit.
How do we live a “life worthy of our calling”?
Matthew 22:36-39
Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law? Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself”
God is so good. He instructs, but also provides. He gives us a formula that if followed correctly aligns and positions us to live a life worthy of our calling.
Life can get busy. Life can be difficult. All these things are unavoidable. Jesus Himself came to earth to experience all of these things – pain, hardship, hunger, temptation, etc. But He reveals the secret to life on this earth – ‘love God, love self, love others’ – in this order.
We must be very careful with Jesus’ words. If you are like me, I sometimes read it as ‘love others, love self, love God’ – this is a backwards order.
Like most formulas – changing part of it leads to much different results. Karyne shared yesterday about her baking and cooking experiments. Let me tell you the honest truth about her making ice cream. When you try to make ice cream and change heavy cream for 1% milk and reduce the sugar by 80%… what you get is NOT ice cream.
God gives us a formula – Love God, Love Self, Love Others – follow carefully.
God has a purpose for Lifespring, has a purpose for each of us – let us find it together, but always remember that it is… LOVE GOD FIRST.