Ephesians, Chapter 4

​“…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." (Ephesians 4:1-3, NIV)

​“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness  and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV) ...

Prayer for My Daughter

Help my child come to live a life worthy of the call she will received. Bless her with humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance in love. Bless her relationships with the spirit of unity and harmony through the bonds of peace. Prepare her for Your works, oh God.

​Eyes gritty and blurry, my weary body protested its wakefulness. Just go to sleep, it begged. Yet, despite the lure of my bed, a deeper call held me captive. Read the next chapter in your Bible, a soft, still voice urged my spirit. So, with eyelids propped up with what felt like toothpicks, I forced myself out of the warm depth of my covers and groped for my audio Bible.

That evening, I had cuddled up with my husband to watch a movie from our high school yesteryears. A popular movie in its time and one I still loved, we laughed and reconnected after a long day. Little girl slept soundly down the hall while we became engrossed in the movie. Yet, even as the movie transported me back to a different time, a different place, a recurring thought poked at me. Should I be watching this? it quietly asked. I stuffed the thought down. I reasoned that I was a believer back then and at that time, I saw nothing wrong in watching it, so it must be fine to continue watching now. The movie wasn’t violent or gory. It didn’t show any sexual content, even though the couple who lived together weren’t married. You felt vindicated for the main protagonist at the end, but you forgot the shades of gray that he dabbled in to achieve his desires. An enjoyable movie with a great plot, it just wasn’t truly pure, noble, good, right or lovely.

“Why do I feel this way?” I asked my husband as we prepared for bed, “I feel like I’m a legalistic snob. All I wanted to do was enjoy a movie with you and I thought it would be fun to reminisce.”

​Placing his hands on my shoulders, my husband grinned down at me, “It makes total sense to me,” he said, “you’ve changed.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “But you’re supposed too,” he continued, “you shouldn’t be the same person you were as a teenager. You’re older, wiser, and more experienced now. You’re a wife and a mother.”

My husband was right. I have changed and I am no longer the same teenager that I was when I first watched this movie. My relationship with Jesus is also similar in that we grow in our walk with our discernment, understanding, and knowledge. Whether we grow by baby steps or by leaps and bounds, our walk with Jesus should look, feel, think, and act differently then it did when we first came to know the Lord.

Like a diamond that starts out as a rock, shavings and chunks of stone are chipped away to reveal the precious gem inside. My younger, less spiritually mature eyes could not see what I saw now because the layer of stone had not yet been chipped away.

Next time I will do better, I vowed to the Lord, next time, if it is a gray area or I am unsure, I will choose to do what I know is clearly in the white and is right. Just because I watched or did something as a younger Christian does not automatically mean it is okay for me to do now.

​I bowed my head and silently asked God to forgive me for ignoring the Holy Spirit’s prompting and the squelching of my conscience. I will do better the next time, I promised God, I will listen when You speak. So, after settling down to some late-night scribblings, my Bible called me out of the warm confines of my soft haven. This time I listened, this time I obeyed.

My audio Bible began reading from Ephesians 5:1, “Live a life according to the work He has called you too.” My eyes popped open and my head snapped up. It was like the Lord was addressing the very issue I struggled with tonight.

"Take off the old self and put on the new self,” it read later in the passage.

Again, I felt like God was speaking directly to me and reinforcing the lesson He wanted me to learn. “Yes, Lord,” I whispered, “I hear You loud and clear. I will take off my old self and put on my new self so that I can live a life according to the work for which You have called me."

​Heart humbled and spirit awed, I bent low in holy reverence for the God who cared enough to speak to my doubts directly, confirm a new pathway, and give the reason why.

Friends, allow me to encourage you this day to take off your old self and put on your new self, for God is calling you to do wonderful things. Whether these good works are outside in the community, in your workplace, at home or with your children, family, friends, or even strangers, the Lord is using you and refining you to do His good work.

I sometimes wonder how washing the dishes, helping with the laundry, or wiping a counter is part of this work I am called to do, but the longer I am a mom, the more I see how what we do at home impacts and shapes the lives of our children and spouses. Remember, it is often not the big contributions we make that change lives, but the whole and the sum of all the little things we do every day that are remembered. All these little things are what grant life and give joy.

​Listen to what the Lord speaks to Your heart, obey His urgings and promptings, and remain faithful and steadfast to His Word and the work for which He has called you - no matter how small or big the work. His riches and blessings will flow long and wide, deep and high in your life.

A Prayer for Myself

Dear Lord,
Help me to speak the Truth in love in my daughter’s life. Lord God, help me to take off the old self and make new the attitude of my mind. Help me to put on the new self, so that I might reflect Christ’s holiness and righteousness to my daughter through the living out of my daily life. Help the talk that comes out of my mouth be wholesome and encouraging. Let me not grieve Your Holy Spirit oh God and help me to rid myself of any bitterness, rage, anger, gossip of tongue and malice of heart, help me be kind and compassionate with a heart of forgiveness to my children, spouse, friends, co-workers, and the world at large.