Living a Worthy Life

"[1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit inthe bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift." Ephesians 4:1-7 (ESV)

Worthy is defined as having adequate or great merit, character, or value. We are called to live a life that is worthy of Christ. That is, to live a life that has merit as it relates to representing Jesus to the world. So, the question is, how do we go about living a life worthy of Christ. Paul gives us a guideline to follow in Ephesians 4. Paul gives us 6 building blocks or benchmarks with which to judge a worthy life.

Be Completely Humble
Very simply, humility is not being proud or arrogant. Humility is the result of our personal submission to God through Jesus Christ. When we are humble, we no longer seek glory for ourselves, rather, we seek to bring glory to God. Humility is the first step of becoming a follower of Christ just as brining glory to God is the first part of God's will for the life of the follower. We are to humble ourselves in every area of our lives. We must come to the realization that there is nothing I can take credit for. Everything that I have and am comes from God. It is all directly attributable to God's grace and mercy. We must change the way we view things. Apart from God, I am nothing. It was not until He came into my life that I can be used for His glory.

Be Completely Gentle

It here that we are called to kindness. Kindness goes a long way in the world in which we live today. It has been my experience that most people may reject our kindness, but they can't reject it until it has been extended to them. Gentleness is the result of humility. When we submit ourselves to God, we find that we desire the best for others. Up unto this point we have only been concerned for ourselves. When Christ enters our lives, our perspective on ourself and others changes drastically. Our charge for live is to serve and not be served. Our kindness is the result of Christ's work in our life and has a magnetic pull on the lives of others. Our expressions of kindness draw others to Christ. We msut also understand that gentleness is not a sign of weakness. Jesus was gently but you would be hard pressed to call Him weak. There are times that the most gentle thing we can do is speak the honest truth to someone.

Be Patient

Patience is an expression of calm without complaint. Patience results from humility and gentleness. We are so time-bound. Stepen Covey talks about us being "slaves to the tyranny of the urgent." What we must understand is that when we surrender our lives to Christ, we have not timetable. It ceases to be about us and becomes about others. We seek God's best in God's time. That may come in minutes or it may take months, either way we are content (Phil. 4:11). Here is what we need to get: The circumstances may not be ideal, but we know tht God is in control and has a plan. We must NEVER FORGET this!

Be Forbearing

Notice this says forbearing and not overbearing. We are to bear up with others. A better way of looking at this is to bear up with difficult people or circumstances. This the personal side of patience. This is being patient with other people. It also is being calm in the midst of the storms of life. Remember what God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient." When we rest in the sufficiency of God's grace we discover patience. What makes patience so difficult is our clash of personality with people. God has uniquely made each one of us with a unique personality that may not always mesh well with others, in the flesh. God has also put His Spirit within us to bear up with people. We find patience when we rely on the Spirit of God within us.

Loving Others

Love is the glue that holds these things together and moves them forward. I Corinthians 13 gives a description of love but also speaks to its attributes. If we have not love then we are nothing and can truly accomplish nothing. If we are going to walk in the Spirit, it is because of love. If we are going to live in obedience to God, it is because of God. It is impossible for us to do anything in the Spirit apartfrom a love for the Father and His people.

Be Unifiers not Dividers

Paul exhorts us to make every effort to build and maintain unity among the body. If we are united as a body under the banner of Christ, how much can we accomplish for the Kingdom? So often we are united so long as it lines up with our own personal agendas. When we have a personal agenda, we can be sure that we are not on God's agenda. We have become too focused on our part of the body as opposed to the Body as a whole. We must remember that we are ONE. Unity is the culmination of all of these things mentioned thus far working together.

Grace that is Given

It is love that binds us together but it is grace that draws us together. We it not for the grace of God, we would never acheive anything for His Kingdom. The reason is that apart from God's grace we would be too busy building our own kingdoms instead of His. Grace is completely undeserved but absolutely needed. Man longs for grace, for it it there that he truly finds his purpose and belonging.