Worthy of Our Calling

Wow, could I really consider myself a prisoner of the Lord? What does that look like? These were my thoughts as I was reading in Ephesians.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.” The last part about walking in a manner with which you have been called rattled around in my brain. What have you been called to do?

My mind went to the spiritual first. I am a leader in our mom’s group and am helping plant a new site for our church. But I’m also called to be the mother of my three children, a babysitter, and I’m directly in charge of the finances in our home (scary thought!). I'm also called to be a wife, daughter, sister, neighbor, etc. I could go on and on.

But then I thought about walking in the manner worthy of my call. I know women are watching me when I am in front speaking, but what about when I’m at the grocery store with my children? I try to be a respectful wife when I visit my husband at work, but how do I represent him in front of our children? This prompted me to list out my main “callings” and the current manner I’m walking them out.

Sisters, to be honest, some of my responses were not as attractive as I would have liked. I need to work harder at being the Lord’s prisoner! I challenge you to write down your main callings and how you are treating that calling. If some of your own responses are not as you would like them to be, don’t despair! The next few verses in Ephesians gives us directions. Paul continues, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others' faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace."

I love how God gives us direction here for what we need to walk in a manner worthy of our calling: humility, gentleness, patience, unity, and peace. Now, I know I need lots of work to be able to translate these into my roles, but I’m excited to try to put these to work, and work harder as a prisoner of the Lord.

Lord, please show me where I’m succeeding in my callings and where I could use some work. Please help me to add these new attitudes into my daily roles. Amen.

~~Jacquie~~