Worthy

How? How can we be worthy of the call? We aren’t perfect. I’m certainly not perfect. Writing on this verse, on this topic is so difficult for me. Imposter syndrome hits big here, hits deep. Worthy of the call, His call for us? Impossible without Him. Only possible WITH HIM.

“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, gentleness, patience, bearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” Ephesians 4:1-4 ESV

So much to unpack in that short verse! So deep! “Walk in a manner worthy…” Everyday I fail to walk in a manner worthy. I wake up grumpy, I’m not a morning person. I get frustrated with my kids, short with my husband, busy with work….worthy? Not even close. It is only through the grace of God that we could even hope to be worthy of being a leader in Christ and for Christ.

Humility… being worthy of the call. Humbling ourselves with less self-importance, less pride. Reminded by my pastor, Mark Hitchcock, this is not to be confused with confidence. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less” (Warren). Lay down your life in humble surrender to Jesus to be worthy of the call. Serve quietly, without pomp or circumstance. I hate bothering people to help me when I actually need it. I try to everything myself, mostly because I don’t want to impose. But sometimes because of my pride. Man, I got a life lesson one weekend because of that pride. We were trying to get ready for the weekend. I had so much to do before we left. I was getting frustrated because work that day was crazy. My husband and I own several businesses. And while we are fortunate to have great employees that we can trust, for some reason that day, I had a lot tasks that I needed to complete in order to leave. I kept telling myself I could get it all done with no help. I’ve got this, I was thinking! My pride in thinking I didn’t need anyone was strong that day, haha! I was at the copy shop (yes, the copy shop….Kinkos….this was, ahem..several years ago). I was trying to get a large file copied and was walking swiftly through the store when my ankle rolled on a transition strip in the carpet. I went down hard and sprained my ankle. Needless to say, the verse “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18) never hit home so hard. We must humble ourselves before God and ask for His help.

Gentleness…being worthy of the call. A new mother is so tender and mild mannered. Think of how your are with a newborn. They coo, they cuddle. And you lean into that, with tender care, with love, with a calmness that you might not have any other time. That gentleness is what God wants to see in us to be worthy of the call.

Patience…being worthy of the call. Oh to have the endless patience of my daughter’s Pre-K teacher! She was so kind, so loving…and never losing her temper with the chaos of 15 five year olds all scrambling for attention! To lead with the patience of a teacher of young children. Oh what a thought for us as we discover what it truly means to be worthy of the calling.

Tolerance…being worthy of the call. In the verse this reads “bearing one another in love” (2). I have to brag a little on my husband. I’m not an easy person to live with. I have a million different things going on at once. My oldest daughter describes my brain like a browser with 30 different tabs going, or a file cabinet with the files flying out everywhere. (ha..ha..little does she know how true that is). I am constantly multitasking and oh how tolerant my husband is with me. When we are chatting, I might bring up 4-5 different subjects in the same conversation…and I know it drives him crazy! Yet, he “deals with it” in his own uncomplaining way with complete love that makes allowance for my fault, my shortcomings.

My family says I’m a people pleaser. I always want unity, everyone to be happy. Everyone to win. Needless to say, it doesn’t always work out. And it can’t. Because we are all different. God doesn’t want uniformity from us. He wants us to have opinions and ideas. But it what we do with those opinions in the wake of others that makes us worthy. It’s how we treat eachother, compromise, help eachother that brings that unity in Christ. With social media, we see so much arguing between believers. Arguing about small, petty events, what this means, what that means, conspiracy theories, pre-trib rapture versus mid trib, or post trib, whether or not Charlie Kirk’s assasination was the a set up, SO MANY THINGS. All of this arguing and squabling is what takes us away from what is truly important….we lose our focus on Jesus. Turn our hearts and focus towards Jesus and His Grace. That’s what brings unity.

God gives us grace so that we can be worthy. “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ “ James 4:6 ESV. His grace alone provides for the needs we have to take up His calling. So many leaders today, on the world stage, nationally, locally,in our families….Pride abounds and humbleness is light. Find humbleness within yourself…lay it all at the foot of the cross to bring pride to a level that is worthy of the call.

“Not only are you pardoned and safe in Christ, but you are accepted at this moment in the Beloved. Your acceptance with God does not rest upon anything in you. You are accepted because you are in Christ, accepted for Christ's sake. Now sometimes you will get robbed of this reward if you listen to the voice which says, "Why, there is still sin in you! Your prayers are imperfect! Your actions are stained." Yes, but let no men beguile you of this conviction that, sinner as you are, you are still accepted in Christ Jesus!” (Spurgeon)

Sources:

Spurgeon, Charles. “A Warning To Believers.” Spurgeons Sermons. Metropolitan Tabernacle, 18 July 1915, Newington, https://ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons61/sermons61.xxvii.html.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For. Zondervan, 2013.