2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Yesterday we talked about living out our calling. But to what have we been called? What does a worthy life look like? This verse tells us. We have been called to humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, unity and peace. Some would say that since we are God’s children and God owns everything that we should be driving the most expensive cars and living in the biggest houses and have huge diamond rings on our fingers. But the Scriptures consistently teach that our inheritance is non-physical. Our inheritance from God will make the transition between temporal and eternal. We begin to enjoy it now and it lasts for eternity. It is about our character. Our character needs to match His. God never flaunts His ownership; He consistently takes a position that enables us to enter into relationship with Him. These two verses show us a summary of the character of Jesus. Ouch! We are to be like Jesus who had no permanent home, who was a common laborer, who reached out and touched the lives of the lowest in society. We are to be humble, recognizing that we did not become God’s children by our own actions. On the contrary, we by rights deserved execution for being a traitor to God’s cause and character. We are to be gentle like God who never forces His way into our lives, but invites us to join in with Him in what He is doing. When we think we are something special in ourselves, it is then that we try to push ourselves and our agendas on others. We are to be patient. Impatience often comes from our belief that other people are less important than we are and should yield to our timetable. We are to bear with one another in love. We need to put up with the foolishness in others, not because we think we are better than they are, but because we are reflecting God’s love for them. We are to work hard at keeping unity. When someone else is a child of God, we should treat them with respect, even if they are not expressing that relationship with God in an identical manner to our expression. Unity in Spirit, not unity in practice. But this is only possible if we ourselves are experiencing His peace. If our inner lives are in turmoil, we can never live in peace. That is where godly counsel comes into play. If your past troubles you, then perhaps you need to spend some time talking through those painful things with someone who recognizes God’s presence in the middle of that pain. When our character is matching that of Jesus, then we are the most fulfilled and experiencing the life God designed us to enjoy. So enjoy today. Submit to God’s direction.
The Arnold Journey 