Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ~ Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
A few years ago, Dallas Cowboys football player, Alfred Morris (now an Arizona Cardinal), made headlines for the kind of car he drove. Many professional athletes have the financial means to purchase just about any kind of vehicle they want. So what kind of expensive and luxurious vehicle did Alfred Morris drive? He drove a 1991 Mazda that he bought back in college from his pastor for $2. His vehicle made headlines because it didn’t seem fitting for an athlete with a million-dollar paycheck.
The opening verse of Ephesians chapter 4 has us thinking about what is fitting for people who have something far more valuable than a million-dollar paycheck. The chapter begins, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received (4:1). In case there is uncertainty about what this “calling” is, the previous chapters of the book of Ephesians share the amazing details of God’s gracious work to save and give a new life of faith. This new life of faith, full of hope and the riches of [God’s] glorious inheritance (1:18), is the calling we have received through Christ.
So how should God’s people live worthy lives of that calling? In his Word, God explains, Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2) One of the reasons Alfred Morris chooses to drive an old car is because he says it serves as a reminder to stay humble.
God gives us a reminder to stay humble too. But God gives us so much more than a reminder! He gave his Son Jesus who was completely humble, gentle, patient, and loving for us and with us. Our Savior Jesus shows us not only what a life worthy of our calling looks like, but he lived, died, and rose again for us, and he now empowers us to live our lives to his glory!
Lord Jesus, thank you for the humility, gentleness, patience, and love you have shown to me. Fill my heart with these same virtues that I might show and live in these ways toward others too. Amen
Living Hope Church 