I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, 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
Once upon a time I saved the instruction books to everything. We all did. Everything from Lego instructions to refrigerator manuals.
Then came the internet.
Suddenly we can look up instructions for anything we want, trusting that someone will have uploaded the manual.
Ever wish life were like that? A list of rules or something we could fall back on to give us direction through the day?
This is that list.
Don’t mistake this with requirements for salvation. Salvation = faith in Jesus + nothing more. This list is how we are to walk post-salvation. These are virtues to strive for, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, as we journey through life.
So what’s on this list?
-humility
-gentleness
-patience
-bearing with one another in love
-eager to maintain unity and peace
I wish those were easier instructions. If we were told to keep our houses clean and watch our budgets, while that would take some organization, we could do it. But humility, gentleness, and patience are tricky. Especially because this isn’t a Sunday morning only thing. Life in Christ is a 24 hour, 7 days a week thing. We are to bear *everyone* in love, though that might look different for every person we encounter. We are to aim for unity and peace with everyone, regardless of how similar or different they are from ourselves.
No one has this down perfect, or we wouldn’t need a Savior. Only with God’s help is this list possible.