Worthy of the calling from God in Christ Jesus!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, 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. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

As followers of Jesus Christ, we should “live a life worthy of the calling you [we] have received” from God, even though it is hard as Jesus warns us in Matthew 16: 24-27:

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Like Matthew 16:24-27 states, we must deny ourselves while we are in this world. This is because we are sinners, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) However, “we know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) This means that we do not belong to this world, for our actual citizenship is in heaven which is the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1). God gave us this as His gift by coming down into the world as Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15) to crucify Himself on the cross as an atonement of our sins, due to His steadfast love (1 John 4:9-10). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Therefore, let’s live our lives as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God who is our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6) and Creator (Genesis 1:27):

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (1 Corinthians 8:6, Romans 6:4, 2 Corinthians 5:17)

However, we must “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” while we are living our lives according to the Spirit and the will of God, for we are His chosen ones and God is love!

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)