Daily Devotion, March 9, 2022

 

Devotion:

Read Ephesians 4:25, 31-32.

Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4 begins, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

From prison to the church at Ephesus we can hear Paul’s urgency for the people to live in the ways of Christ. In chapter 3, he reminds the people that God’s grace through Christ includes all people. Paul is helping the Hebrew and Gentile followers of Christ to get along with each other and to be in unity as a witness of Christ’s love. At the same time, he is saying that this new life in Christ calls them to remove their old ways.

In the verses for today, Paul specifically declares that they must (in verse 25) “put off all falsehood”, and (in verse 31), “31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

In regards to the reason for telling the truth, Rev. William Barclay writes, “It is because we are all members of the same body.” He continues, “We can live in safety only because the senses and the nerves pass true messages to the brain. If they passed false messages, if, for instance, the nerves told the brain something was cold, when it was hot, life would soon come to an end.”

Bitterness (long-term resentment), rage and anger, brawling and slander, and malice, are long-term, harmful, heavy and consuming emotions for self and for others. These definitely hurt the witness of Christ’s love which is at work transforming our lives.

Paul offers the alternative to this way of life, “32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  

Chapter 5 begins with, “Be imitators of God.” I recently saw a picture of a grandmother hiking with her two year old grandson. She had a hiking stick and he wanted to have a hiking stick just like she had. They were hiking on the trail in step, right beside each other both with their walking sticks.

Personal Worship Option:

Walk beside and in step with Christ today, letting go of the old ways and embracing Christ’s ways with each new step.