Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Grumbling within the church can spread like a cancer throughout the body. But not only that, when we grumble within the hearing of non-believers, we can give them a bad taste of life in the church.
In this passage, we’re called to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” In other words, we must strive to be like Christ. How?
- Humility: a healthy self-image of our own abilities and inabilities so that we know we will always fall short of perfection, and that is why we need Christ!
- Gentleness: also translated as meekness (which we’ve been studying in our little Bible study group!). This is not weakness; it is strength under control of the Master.
- Patience: willingness to persevere no matter what. But we must also be patient with other people.
- Accepting one another in love: this means not feeling or acting self-righteous!
- Diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit: unity is something that will never be attained simply by striving for unity itself. Unity is a by-product of growth in Christ, and following God’s will.
Of course, God can accomplish absolutely anything He desires; after all, he is GOD! Ephesians 3:20 tells us that he is able to do far more than we can even imagine, but he chooses to act through us. Isn’t that wonderfully amazing?!
