By Pam Otto
For the past couple months, there have been a few verses that I've been revisiting often. I have to say, they’ve been really challenging me. As I read and re-read them, I quickly discovered I had a lot to work on. Let’s look at Ephesians 4:1-3:
“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
So many good things to focus on: humility, gentleness, patience, love, peace and unity. Can you imagine if we had these all figured out?
I love to look at other translations of verses that challenge me, so let’s read the Message version of this same verse.
“I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.”
I'm sure you agree this is an inspiring passage that calls us to walk out our faith in meaningful ways, with specific traits that regularly show up in our everyday lives. Which ones would be a challenge for you? As I dug into the true meaning of these words, I realized how much room I had to grow further in each of these areas!
Humility: Freedom from pride. Acknowledging our need for God and submitting to His will. Practically, putting others' needs before your own, and sacrificing for the love of others.
Gentleness: The quality of being kind and careful. It is a tender, compassionate approach toward others.
Patience: The ability to endure difficult people and situations with calmness, grace and a lack of rushing.
Love: Being patient and kind; not arrogant, rude, irritable or resentful. Love does not insist on its own way; it rejoices with the truth.
Peace: An inner state of well-being and calm.
The most recent challenge for me has been patience! Anyone need a little more practice in that area? The definition above says that a patient person endures setbacks with calmness, grace and a lack of rushing. I laugh at the definition, as it sounds so reasonable but in reality is so hard to walk out.
Remember the recent gas shortage due to back-to-back hurricanes? Did anyone else need to wait in super long lines to get a tank of gas? Were you patient? Or if you evacuated, did you wait in traffic? Were you patient? A few weeks ago, my neighborhood's main entrance was flooded, so we had numerous opportunities to practice patience by going the long way around. My tendency is to be a “rusher,” so I’m not sure anyone would call me calm. I’ve got some room to grow! Look how often we get to practice enduring with calmness and grace, and maybe even slowing down!
Which of the traits seem to challenge you the most? Maybe gentleness or love? Humility or peace? Each of them are worth pursuing and growing in, and God faithfully continues the work of transforming us in our faith journey.
What verses have been challenging you lately? Have you looked deeper into their meanings? How has your faith grown as you've applied these truths to your life?