Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

I have preached on this verse within the past year, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a very simple, matter-of-fact verse. The Japanese translation really sets the tone by starting with, “Well then.” God’s calling is an accomplished fact for every Christian, so Paul is simply encouraging us to live up to what God has already done. You could say that God has already done the “heavy lifting,” declaring us righteous and holy in Christ. We might not grasp what a big deal it is when God declares something, but we need to remember that God spoke the universe into being. (Genesis 1) If He says it, that settles it! All too often we don’t believe that we really are righteous and holy, and we tend to live up to, or down to, our self-image. That’s a real problem. Paul was very clear that as long as we’re in these bodies on this earth we don’t get there perfectly. He said it famously about himself in Philippians 3:12-14, and he also told us to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12) That’s not fear that we won’t make it into heaven, but a desire not to miss anything of what God has planned for us. The devil works overtime to distract us from Christ and what He has done for us, so we need to stand firm against that. God never asks anything of us that He hasn’t already supplied, but sometimes we don’t recognize that supply until we choose to be obedient out of sheer faith. Walking on water isn’t a human option, but it’s no problem for God!

God has already demonstrated this many times in my life and in the life of this church. One such time was when we built this building – a clearly impossible task for such a small congregation. It was so much the case that God inspired an artist, whom He had also provided to be a member of this church during that period, to do a set of three oil paintings as a commemorative gift to us. One smaller one is the whole scene of the boat with the disciples, with Jesus standing on the water and reaching out to Peter, who is sinking, and there are two large ones, one each of Peter and of Jesus at that very moment. The set is a striking reminder that even when we think we’re going under, Jesus has hold of us and we’re fine. That’s a very important lesson. God sometimes calls us out of the boat, as Jesus did Peter, but if He does so, we have nothing to worry about. That’s not to say we won’t worry, because we probably will, but that worry is completely unnecessary. When it comes to living as Jesus’ disciples, His witnesses, we need to remember that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Father, thank You for this reminder. I see those paintings every day, and so am dulled to them. Help me indeed walk worthy of the calling You have placed on me, not in my own strength, which is certainly inadequate, but in Yours, so that all of Your plans for me may be fulfilled, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!