In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul begs them to “…lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Ephesians 4:1). When I read that my first instinct is to think about works. I should be doing something. Feeding the hungry. Ministering to the homeless. Going on a mission trip to Africa. Mother Teresa comes to mind. There was a great movie back in 2006 called The End of the Spear. I would highly recommend streaming it. It tells the true story of the attempt in the 1950s to evangelize the Waodani people of the tropical rain forest of Eastern Ecuador. Five missionaries who had made contact with the Waodani – Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian – were eventually attacked and speared to death. The seeds they planted, however, produced fruit. Over time there were numerous conversions to Christianity, and growth of the local church.
So, when I hear “…lead a life worthy of your calling…” I begin to think. Gosh I haven’t done anything “worthy.” How about you? Is that where you go? We hear about people serving the poor in inner cities and tales of missionaries all over the world sharing the gospel. What have I done?
Interestingly enough, Paul follows “…lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God,” with, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3). That’s it? Yeah. That’s not easy, is it? Being humble, gentle, patient. Understanding that people make mistakes. Including hurting us or someone we love. I have had the privilege of serving the poor and hungry in Hartford as well as traveling to Haiti to work with our sister church in Camp Perrin. And I will say, in many ways, it’s easier to care for the poor in Calcutta as Mother Teresa did or share the gospel in Ecuador than it is to be patient and understanding with someone who has sinned against us.
We all seemed to be wired to respond in the way we have been treated. But that’s not what Jesus said, is it? “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also…love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5). And later on, in Ephesians Paul writes, “…be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
None of that is easy – at all. Being patient, kind, understanding, and forgiving are some of the hardest things for any Christian to do. But it’s what separates “the men from the boys” they say. The real Christians from the pretenders. You see, lots of people can go to church on Sunday morning, say the right words, sing the songs, and put money in the offering plate. However, if they are not patient, kind, understanding, and forgiving it’s all a show. God knows the difference. Jesus scolded the Pharisees about this saying, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:7-8).
If you are called to mission work in a foreign country or your local town, respond with all your heart. But that’s not the only way to live a life worthy of your calling. Do we want to honor God? To lead a life worthy of our calling? Then we simply need to be humble, gentle, patient, and understanding. Believe me, that’s hard enough as it is.
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