Walk Worthy

 The Christian life has been compared to a variety of things. One in particular is that of a walk. A walk in the context of the Christian faith involves the way we live and conduct ourselves throughout our lives. The manor in which we live will either reflect Christ or it will reflect the ways of the world.

Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1). There are a multitude of ways we must walk to be pleasing unto the Lord. We will consider a few.

Bearing with one another. Walking worthy before the Lord strongly involves our conduct with one another. Paul continued, “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

Bearing with one another is not possible apart from a humble mindset. It is the humble mindset that keeps us from thinking too highly of ourselves. It also enables us to focus on the needs of others rather than our own needs (cf. Philippians 2:1-4).

Bearing with one another includes longsuffering. This is equated with patience. Like humility, bearing with one another is not possible apart from longsuffering. One who is longsuffering will not give up on a relationship at the first sign of trouble. Instead, when trouble arises, they will work together until they can arrive at a workable solution.

Forgiving one another. No relationship can work without forgiveness. We have all heard the saying, “To error is human, to forgive divine”. Everyone makes mistakes. No matter how good someone may appear, they are not perfect. Eventually, everyone slips, falls, and will let you down.

Paul taught us how to handle such situations. He wrote, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32).

There are times that forgiving another can be extremely difficult. We may find ourselves not even wanting to extend forgiveness to another. What helps us to forgive is to remember the forgiving nature of Christ. While He was in His greatest agony, He uttered the words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Remembering the great debt of sin we have been forgiven goes a long way in helping us extend forgiveness to others.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything we must do to walk worthy of our calling. However, bearing with one another and forgiving each other points us in the right direction. Doing these things helps us to be more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The more we grow in His image, the more we will walk worthy of our calling.

God Bless each of you,

Eric Hicks