Walking Worthy Of Your Calling

Work, rest and play are all a foretaste of glory divine. Gifts from the giver who keeps on giving. Gifts shaped just right for who we were created to be. Gifts to be celebrated as together we walk in a manner worthy of the calling we have received. Gifts to be enjoyed and rejoiced over community with humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another in love.

Humility is an attitude of the mind. Humility recognizes our dependence on God’s grace. Humility sees the unique, infinite value of other people from God’s perspective. Humility humbly walks alongside another person and helps them to excel. Humility rejoices when others with more skills than we have succeed. Humility celebrates that someone is more talented, more gifted, more handsome or more beautiful than we are.

Gentleness is an outward manifestation of humility. Gentleness is considerate of the needs and feelings of others. Gentleness softens our sharp edges and keeps us from scraping, cutting and bruising those we get close to. Gentleness knows how to handle the prickly porcupines in our workplaces. Gentleness lends a caring hand for the long haul with those who are broken, wounded, bleeding emotionally or scarred spiritually. The touch of gentleness brings God’s healing into their lives.

Patience enables us to walk step by step in humility and gentleness in the company of disappointing, frustrating and downright offensive people. Patience endures all kinds of circumstances. Patience is hunkering down for the lengthy, arduous process of spiritual growth. Patience allows others to learn at their own pace and to make mistakes. Patience never gets bothered by those who don’t follow policies or procedures. Patience accepts all people regardless of how they approach their work. Patience walks a mile in someone’s shoes and listens to their heart before speaking one word.

When we bear with one another in love we are filled with forgiveness, understanding and empathy. We offer each other the grace to grow in Christ in our own unique way and pace. We create safe places for each other to develop the unique gifts and abilities God has blessed us with, without fear of judgement or condemnation.

Love is the foundation for humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with each other. Love expects nothing in return. Love puts aside our own desires for personal fulfilment and peace of mind. Love is filled with heartfelt concern for others. Love overflows from hearts where Christ in all his fullness dwells. Love pours forth from a life rooted and grounded in God’s love.

Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and love are five stepping stones that Christ leads us along one step at a time to a clearing at the end of the path where we will live in the unity of the Spirt in the bond of peace. When we walk with humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and love we anticipate the enjoyment of God and all of his children in the new creation where we will dwell in the presence of the triune God.

God’s mighty strength that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms is more than strong enough to enable you to walk with humility through your workplace.

The riches of God’s grace that he has lavished on us, raising us up with Christ and seating us with him the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus is more than sufficient to enable you to walk gently amongst your co-workers.

The hope to which Christ has called you, is so glorious that you can walk patiently alongside anybody.

God’s love which establishes your life unmovable and unshaken in any situation is broad enough, long enough, high enough and deep enough to encompass all the people you work with.

God’s love which surpasses knowledge in which you can sink the roots of your life is abundantly more than you need to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph 3:20-21).

Grounded in Love

God, out of his glorious riches, offers you the privilege to sink the roots of your life deep in the soil of his love. Then you will be a like tree planted by streams of water producing fruit in its season. God in his incomparable great power offers you the privilege to build your life on the foundation of his unconditional love. Then you will be like a building resting on a firm foundation of love, which can’t be shaken.

God’s offer of a life that is rooted and grounded in love is available freely to anyone who invites Christ to dwell in their heart through faith. 

When your life is rooted in God’s love, God is the wellspring which nourishes every aspect of your life. You no longer need to find nourishment from other people or the things you have. When your life is built on the foundation of God’s love, you no longer have to pursue your career or family or relationships to find stability during the storms of life. 

Loving relationships are not the norm in our fallen world. Whether at work or in the church, as long as we live in a fallen world we will be hurt by other people. Our responses may escalate the conflict or temporarily calm the situation. At those times, when we rely on our own strength our roots will shrivel up and die. When we are hurt by other people, our own power is not sufficient to maintain stability in our lives. 

Only the glorious riches of our Father, strengthening you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, is capable of keeping your feet firmly planted on love when people try to control and manipulate you or when people say and do things that hurt you mentally or emotionally. 

Only God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, can bring substantial emotional healing, the peace to sleep at night and the strength to get up in the morning. 

Christ’s love which your life is rooted in is broad enough to encompass all people. Christ’s love which your life is established on is long enough to last for eternity. Christ’s love is deep enough to touch any need, any sin, any hurt. Christ’s love is high enough to take you up to glory and beyond. The love that your life is rooted and established on is beyond comprehension. 

A life rooted in love is a life that pours out love for others. When your life is rooted and established in love there is no place for arrogance, no place for controlling or manipulating relationships, no place for pettiness or pride. It is the life of one who is an agent of peace, unity and reconciliation. 

When your life is rooted and established in love, you discover that you are part of a larger family. You belong to Christ and you belong to all those whose lives are rooted in established in love. You need each individual in the body of Christ to grasp the whole of God’s love. The God who has made you part of His eternal family, provides his love to build a stable, practical Christian life worthy of being part of his family. God loves you as much as he loves each member of his family. God loves you so much that you have an equally important part in his temple which he is building as every other member of his family. 

Prayer 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph 3:14-21)

Joyful in Hope

 

With a fresh perspective, focused on God, you can live your life above your circumstances. You can sleep in peace! You can remain joyful in hope every day!

God whose manifold wisdom crafted the plan which enabled you to become part of God’s family before the dawn of creation is more than wise enough to provide wisdom for the tiniest details of your life. Nothing is happening today in your life that will hinder God from accomplishing his divine purposes.

During those times when your life seems to go from one crisis to the next, you can rest assured that God is still accomplishing His divine purposes. Your responsibility is simply to trust in the manifold wisdom of God, to rest in the gift of God’s grace, and to moment by moment obediently live your life through God’s power.

The incomparable greatness of God’s power which raised you up with Christ and seated you in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus is more power than you need for today and tomorrow. 

God’s grace which made you alive in Christ when you were dead in your transgressions and sins, is more than sufficient for each day of your life. You don’t need to depend on your own abilities to do what God has called you to do, you can rely on God’s grace to see you through.

Consider for a moment where the Apostle Paul is when he writes to the Ephesians painting a glorious word picture of who we are and what we have in Christ. 

Paul is living under house arrest, chained to a Roman Soldier. Paul isn’t free to come and go as he pleases. Paul’s life seemed to go from one crisis to the next. If you think your life has challenges, Paul would claim that his life had even more difficulties. He has been in prison frequently, flogged, exposed to death, beaten with rods, pelted with stones and shipwrecked. He has been in danger from rivers, bandits, Jews and Gentiles. He’s gone without sleep, known what it is to be hungry and thirsty, cold and naked. (2 Cor 11:23-29). 

Paul lived his life above these circumstances, because he lived with a fresh perspective that looked to God.

God’s grace transformed Paul from a Jewish leader who persecuted Christ followers to a preacher of the boundless riches of Christ. Paul knew that it was not his own abilities but the grace of God that enabled him to preach. Since God’s grace transformed Pauls’ life, Paul knew that God’s grace was sufficient for each day of his life. Paul knew he didn’t need to trust in his own abilities to change his situation. Paul knew that he could totally depend on God.

By his grace, God chose to reveal the mystery of his divine plan to Paul. God in his manifold wisdom had an eternal plan before the dawn of creation to join together people from all tribes and nations into one body through faith in Christ. Paul knew that God who was wise enough to craft this divine plan of salvation, was more than wise enough to care for the littlest of details of his life. 

When Paul became a servant of the gospel, Paul knew that this was a gift of God’s grace made possible only by the incomparable greatness of God’s power. Paul trusted that this power of God which raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6) was more than sufficient for whatever happened in his life today and tomorrow.

Not only did Paul have the privilege and task of proclaiming that we could approach God with freedom and confidence because God’s eternal purposes had been accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul knew that it was personally true. Paul knew that he was in Christ and through faith in Christ he could boldly and freely approach the throne of grace as God’s child (Eph 3:12).

When you by faith believed the gospel message which is rooted in eternity, you entered into a secure relationship with God. You can come to God with boldness and confidence! At any time, in any place– your Heavenly Father is waiting in love ready to listen to your pleas, to ease your burdens, and to give you peace, joy, grace and wisdom.

Photo Credit: ExistenceOfGod.org