Live Worthy of the Call

Greetings! New Year wishes to you! Hope you’re doing well and good! May the LORD grant the wishes of your heart and give the best of everything to you in this new year!

At the start of a new year, we would customarily decide on certain resolutions. Generally, these resolutions are tailored towards our wellbeing and our betterment, that is, certain things which we wish to do differently or improve upon. Of course, the new year offers a better time to start these resolutions. Likewise, in our spiritual life, we’d similarly take resolutions to improve our time spent with the LORD and to grow in spiritual aspects in accordance with the Bible. In this respect, the LORD also reminds us and leads us in a path such that we become the best versions of ourselves in due time. Paul writes to the Ephesians to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

What is this calling? Paul points out in 2 Timothy 1:9, that the LORD has saved us and “called us with a holy calling”, that is, to live a holy and righteous life. The LORD states in Isaiah 1:16-17, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow”. Micah 6:8 notes, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”. So our calling is to be holy, be humble in the sight of the LORD, to show the love of God to others through our life and actions, to be merciful and to stand for justice.

This “worthy living according to our calling” might have some hindrances along the way. The most obvious hindrance is sin. Paul elaborates the effect of sin in his epistle to the Romans 6:12-21. Sin would reign over us should we obey our evil desires. Further, parts of our bodies which sin also become instruments of wickedness. Clearly this is not worthy of our call. Paul goes on to say that sin should not be our master and reminds us that we are under grace. However, as Paul clarifies, we should not continue to sin because we are under grace, for the one who sins is a slave to sin. We who are called to be holy should obey the one who called us and be led to righteousness.

A less obvious hindrance to living our lives worthy of our call is our own “self”. Simply put, this covers everything we do out of our self centered interests. Surprisingly, this includes our ministry as well; indeed, it becomes “our“ ministry rather than the LORD’s. Regarding this mentality, Jesus states the following.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23

Will of the Father, for each of us is different, while there might be some overlaps with others for certain things during the course of our life, the specific special purpose for each of us on this earth is different. Thus, we shouldn’t try and emulate the people we see, but rather ask the LORD and find our own calling, purpose, and mission. Once we know and understand this, following the path and living worthy of our calling would be more fulfilling. Let us be the ones who do the will of the Father and enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us understand the LORD’s will in our lives, and thus, live worthy of our call.