City Life Starter

I. The WORD: Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. (NLT)

II. Reflection Questions:

1. Do you find yourself mostly in a “It’s all about Me mentality” or a “We mentality”?

2. Have you shown grace to someone for their short comings and Vice-versa?

3. Was it authentic?

 

As a Spiritual Family or the Body of Christ, we all come from different backgrounds and experiences and have different gifting’s by the Holy Spirit. What unites us however or keeps us moving in oneness is found in verses 4 – 6:

“4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”  

When we are all drawn to the same focal points or have the same things in common it helps with everyone working together to make the whole successful. Now this course of action sounds a lot easier said than done because the fact is that we are human and are not perfect by any means. This oneness comes only through the Holy Spirit. In verse 1, Paul begs the reader to “live a life worthy of our calling for we have been called by GOD”. The Amplified Bible says it this way:

“1 So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation]”

This is not always easy to do especially when doing life with our spiritual family. However, he does tell us how to go about this in verse 2:

“2 Always be humble and gentle….”

This is so counteractive to the way the world works today with a big focus on “me”. What usually interferes with humbleness is pride, wanting to put self-first or being quick to look at someone else’s flaws first before looking at my own. The list could go on. For me, one of the most humbling things is to admit that I was wrong instead of trying to justify my actions at the time. But again, it’s not about me.

Gentleness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Jay and I frequently talk about how it’s not always what you say, but how you say it that is key to successful communication. Have you been in those situations where you have to have a difficult conversation with someone especially when the situation/actions just don’t line up with the Word? That’s another difficult area for me but I’m learning to implement “Carefrontation” (confrontation with love:)). Yelling at someone or dealing harshly with someone doesn’t cut it and may just aggravate the situation. More importantly how does it represent Christ? The truth can still be told by approaching with care and watching my words and actions.

Continuing with verse 2:

“2 …Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

When we show unselfish love instead of focusing on ourselves, we’re able to give things time, to wait – to be long-suffering. By the world standards, if you do me wrong or we don’t agree on things then I’ll just cut you off and move on. Not so much in the Spiritual Family. The fact is that none of us are perfect. But when we stop to remember what Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”, that should activate patience when dealing with others, loving them despite their faults. I have learned, painfully, to show grace just as The LORD renews his grace and mercy to me daily. By the way, Patience is also part of the fruit of the Spirit.

In verse 3, Paul says to:

3 “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”

Yes, we come from different backgrounds and experiences and yes, we are all gifted differently but we still must do our part to work together, complimenting one another for the good of the whole. To make sure that the unity / oneness tohat we have is undisturbed. Peace is another part of the fruit of the Spirit.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, I pray that the prayer that you said below in John 17:20-21 will continue to be made manifest in our lives today:

20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”