June 5 (Ephesians 4:1)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….
(ESV)
How can Paul, a
prisoner, urge anyone toward a better life?
If we ask that question, then we need to get something straight. We are all prisoners for the Lord. Prisoners do not have rights, and when we
surrender our lives to Jesus, we surrender our right to do things our way and
for our own pleasure.
To those who do
not know what it is to walk with Jesus, that can sound absolutely
horrible. God wants to take away my
rights and imprison me? In truth, this
is not imprisonment for punishment, but when we are confined within the immensity
of Christ, we are free to become what He has made us to be. Apart from Him, we are bound by the
constricting darkness of our own thoughts, the relentless chafing of the chains
of our competing desires.
Ours is a
glorious calling as the sons and daughters of God. It is resplendent with purpose and
meaning. Why on earth would we want to
walk clothed in anything other than righteousness and holiness?
Lord, I humbly acknowledge my identity as Your child, redeemed from the penalty of my sin by the blood of Jesus and empowered by His grace and guided by the Holy Spirit to walk boldly in the calling You have given me. May my life ever bring You glory even as it directs others to You. Amen.
Copyright © 2016 by Steven R. Perkins
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