Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Recently I read this verse when I should have been listening to something else that was happening at the time. Maybe it’s ADD, maybe it isn’t. I just know that when I heard the verse before this one being read, I couldn’t stop reading after the person reading verse one did. Boy, am I glad I kept reading. Let me tell you what I learned.

There’s no doubt that one of the things we’re really good at in Christianity is doing. We do all kinds of stuff, and we do it really well. We do multiple church services each week. We do daily devotions. We do prayer meetings, small group meetings, committee and board meetings. We even do dishes after the meals at the meetings. We do so much, that it’s no wonder many Christians seem tired and stressed. And that’s why what I read was so powerful.

The verse just before ours mentions that we should "live a life worthy of the calling" we’ve received. Now, I’ve read, heard, and taught that verse many times, and every time I always understood it the same way: if you’re going to live the life, there are certain things you will need to do. Living, it seems, involves a lot of doing (a lot more than we mentioned earlier, too!). But Paul doesn’t seem to teach it that way. Continue reading