I… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3
The scripture supplied today is only verse 2, but without context, it loses something.
Paul is imploring the Ephesian Christians to walk in a manner worthy of the call of the Lord. He then supplies one of his famous lists, this one of the mannerisms that will support Christian unity. Here they are:
- Humility (ταπεινοφροσύνης): Humbleness of mind. In other words, foregoing or avoiding self-exaltation and instead living in dependence upon the Lord.
- Gentleness (πραΰτητος): Divinely balanced meekness or gentle strength.
- Patience (μακροθυμίας): Long suffering; taking one’s time to anger.
- Bearing (ἀνεχόμενοι): Demonstrating tolerance and forbearance toward others.
- Love (ἀγάπῃ): Divinely inspired affection and benevolence toward others.
Now that’s a list to work on! So, I challenge you to assign each of these words a weekday, and for four weeks, pray and focus on that word. Example: focus on “patience” every Monday.
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