Devotion:
Read Ephesians 4:1-6.
The writer of this letter has already offered some deep and inspiring images of what God did through Jesus Christ, breaking down the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles. Everybody has access to God. Everybody can be part of the family of God. We are all one in Christ. And the verses just before our reading today are some of the highest and best in all the Bible!
In the verses we have read for today, the writer urges us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” That calling for each of us is basically to continue the mission of Jesus. He then begins to describe what that “life” looks like: humble, gentle, patient and tolerance grounded in love. The instruction in verse three is especially needed in our day and time. Here is how Eugene Peterson translated it in The Message: “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.”
There are many forces among us today that seek to pull us apart as the people of God. But if we stay connected to the same Spirit that first called us into this mission, you can be assured that Spirit wants to keep us working together as one: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called…”
Personal Worship Option:
Peter Scholtes wrote these words 55 years ago (you may know the rest of the song, but just focus on these words for today): “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…”
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