“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Ephesians 4:1
On one of the first days after moving into our apartment, my new husband discovered one of my biggest pet peeves: being ignored. I was in the kitchen, unpacking boxes, when I asked him something. He was in the room next to the kitchen, and his response? Silence. He didn’t even look up from the Ikea bookshelf he was putting together.
So, of course, I repeated my question again, a bit louder this time. When I still didn’t get a response, I yelled it out, my neck muscles bulging in frustration. He didn’t even blink.
Finally, I barged into the living room, and said expectantly, “Well?”
He stared at me, blankly. He hadn’t heard a thing! That moment, we realized our apartment was acoustically challenged. And he also realized how ornery I can get if my questions go unanswered.
I’m so grateful that God doesn’t run out of patience. When He calls out to us, it’s a gift, full of grace and love and peace. His call is tenacious. And He never loses hope that we’ll answer.
But sometimes, we’re deaf to Him. We’re not open to hearing His voice, and even if we do hear Him, we don’t respond. We don’t, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:1, live our lives worthy of His calling. Because it’s not good enough to say we belong to God; our actions need to reflect His humility, gentleness, patience, love. Everything we do and say should reveal how Christ has given us freedom, and how He continues to shape us to be more like Him.
Father, forgive us when we ignore Your call. Tune our ears to hear Your voice, and may we live our lives worthy of the calling we’ve received. Amen.
Take Action
Are you living a life that’s worthy of God’s call on your life? Maybe you harbor bitterness or anger towards someone. Perhaps you frequently lose patience with a co-worker or a family member. Or maybe you’ve been a source of discord in your church. Whatever it is, confess it to God and ask that He would give you grace and peace and love towards those in your life.