EPHESIANS 4: 1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

TO PONDER

To live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Since our theme his week is being fully engaged by God's call, you would think that's the part of the verse we'd focus on today, but I want to draw our attention to the other part.

the Apostle Paul writes this letter to the Christians in Ephesus as a prisoner. He has not done anything wrong except go around talking about Jesus and promoting the Christian message. But even in prison, Paul uses the opportunity to live a life worthy of the call he has received. Even in prison, he considers himself 'a prisoner of the Lord'. His status as an apostle, called to bring the good news of Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles didn't end because he was in prison, at least not as far as he was concerned.

I think sometimes we can be guilty of letting our life circumstances dictate how we engage with God's call. Perhaps you are raising young kids and are thinking, once my kids are a bit older and more independent, then I'll have time to meet with and talk with my friends about Jesus. Maybe you are working in a workplace that makes talking about your faith with colleagues a bit difficult and feel like your hands are tied. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that Paul probably literally had his hands tied and likely dictated this letter to someone to write for him, but he did not let the circumstance of his imprisonment keep him from the calling he knew he had been given by Jesus. So let Paul, the prisoner of the Lord also urge you to live a life worthy of your calling, don't let your circumstances define how you engage with the call God has given you, instead, see where God has called you and use that as inspiration as to how you might engage with that call in a practical and meaningful way.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you have called me to follow you and to share the good news of your death and resurrection. Help me to see the way you are calling me to live in that call in every situation so that I might live each moment worthy and faithfully engaged in the calling you have given me. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle