photo: CCO public domain
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit—
just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Ephesians 4:1-7
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
so that we may no longer be children,
tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,
by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love,
we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
from whom the whole body,
joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,
when each part is working properly,
makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
Unity
It’s a word I hear tossed around these days
Often misused to the point of turning my stomach!
It seems it has come to mean that if I have a strong belief
I must shut my mouth…
Particularly if I am a Christian.
Because my belief is offensive to so many others.
Unity has come to mean that if I have a strong belief I must shut my mouth so I don't offend those who disagree. Share on XCan Christians be offensive in the way they share their beliefs and values?
Of course!
But they aren’t the only ones.
I am coming to clarity more and more on this issue.
Even back in Paul’s day, Christianity was offensive.
Why? Because there is a huge clash
Of worldviews between Christianity and other faiths.
There is a huge clash of worldviews between Christianity and other faiths. Share on XAm I going to submit my life and my desire
To live a certain way to GOD and His Word?
Or am I going to live the way I please apart from GOD?
The end of each of those roads is quite different.
In many ways, we will not come to unity
If we all continue in our same beliefs and paths. stop
But Jesus’ way is recommended here.
This is His worldview:
If you are in Christ, walk in a way
that is worthy of your calling…
With humility, gentleness and patience,
Bearing with each other in love.
If you are in Christ, walk in a way that is worthy of your calling... With humility, gentleness and patience, Share on XThis is the path to unity within the Body of Christ.
That is where we “show off Christ”
That is where people see if the Christian life works
In the Church!
This is the path to unity within the Body of Christ. That is where we show off Christ...in the Church! Share on XAt least that’s how it is supposed to be.
We can rail at our culture all we want.
But if we, as the Church aren’t “showing off Christ” in this way
We are losing our way.
What are you doing to show off Christ corporately?
How do you contribute to unity within the Body of Christ where you are?
How does this lifestyle show itself through your behavior
in your home, church, and community?
Is your life characterized by arrogance, pride, lust and anger or humility, gentleness, patience and love. People who don’t know GOD can tell the difference.
Excellent words my friend! I’m glad you didn’t stop at “stop” that’s the best part of the post!
BTW, your recommendation Tara Barthel? Fantastic! I want to do her study!
i’m so glad. everything she does is excellent. she is so open, practical and down to earth. her book that she wrote is great. we did it as a group. only used their questions. very probing. i think it works better as a monthly group b/c the questions take time to process along with the chapter reading. i’ve had friends who recommended the book for their women to do together in a new church plant. they said (2-3 years later) that it set a culture of speaking to one another about disagreements and not gossiping from the very beginning. in the church where our women’s leadership group used it (b/f there was an official women’s ministry) at the end of the year of study, a number of attitudes changed and some deep resentments were dealt with, changes made in dealing with some difficult women’s issues and within the group, women found support in some very difficult personal prayer issues that no one else knew about. it was an amazing help to all of us!
Unfortunately, I’m afraid that those in charge would find something wrong with the theology…and that would stop the study before it even began. We’ve had that happen several times before.
🙁
I ordered it for me though 🙂
you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for sharing. I fail, but stand back up and try. The life of a sinner…
visiting from FMF
thanks for stopping by maxine:) the encouraging news is that Jesus has lived the perfect life for us already. That’s the life on our record…his perfect life in exchange for our failure to be able to obey…time after time! in Christ, it is now possible for us to do the right thing with right motives, but even now, we fail often. i’m so thankful He died in my place to pay for my failed record. but yes, as i grow in grace, i learn to love in this way to bring unity. thanks be to GOD for His abundant grace:)
THIS: “If you are in Christ, walk in a way that is worthy of your calling…With humility, gentleness and patience,Bearing with each other in love.” Yes! Over in the #7 spot this week.
would that we all lived in a way that was “worthy of our calling” in Christ! I’m guessing if we did, our world would look quite different. see you soon tara:)
Hi, Martha, I love the strength in your words. Yes, we are losing our way if we don’t show love, gentleness, and patience. I feel like there is a growing awareness of how the church needs to be strong in truth and grace. Thank you for moving the world towards Him with your words. Visiting from FMF in the spot right after you. Have a great weekend.
thanks for stopping by christina:) thanks too for your kind words.