Getting Practical

Eph 4:2,3 "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 love practical application. To me, if you are filled with a bunch of truth but you can't or don't do anything about it, it is not really very helpful or real. That is what is so cool about Paul's writing. He just doesn't fill you will a bunch of information, but he gives you real, practical ways to live out what he has taught. These two verses are just an example of that.

 

In verse one he gives us a principle: Walk worthy. That is great. And as I wrote yesterday, this means live a life that shows God's worth, a life of worship. But what does that mean really? How can I do this an everyday way? Here come verses two and three.

 

Walk in lowliness. That doesn't sound like too much fun. It may not be, but it is how we walk worthy. The word for lowliness actually means that you have a deep sense of how little you really are. The understanding that this salvation that you have is not up to you, the realization that this relationship with God that you have is totally His doing, knowing that this is all God and my location in His presence is His work and that He wants me to know the unsearchable, should result in a deep sense of my littleness. "I am nothing, He is everything, but He wants to make me something." This is how I have to live my life. When the world around me is so "me centered", my worthy walk has to be the opposite.

 

Walk in gentleness. How do I respond when things don't go the way I think that they should go? How do I react when I see something that I think is wrong? What do I do when I can't control a situation, or direct an outcome? Am I loud? Do I scream? Do I lose my temper? Does my face get all contorted? Do I climb into my shell and give the silent treatment? To walk worthy means to walk in gentleness, to respond in a mild, calm, even way. Why? Because God has it all under control and if I am not all that big of a deal to begin with, then I should not get all bent out of shape. (Yikes…too practical. This is hitting me right between the eyes right now.)

 

Walk with longsuffering. I have been pretty vocal lately about faithfulness. I have told several people that the key in the Christian life is not the highs and lows, but the constancy. The consistency. This verse just hits it again. Longsuffering means constancy. It means endurance. It means steadfastness. No matter what happens, no matter what hits, be patient. Be steady. I think of the story of the tortoise and the hare. It was the constant, steady, sometime plodding tortoise that won the race. Not because he was faster, not because he was better, but because he was determined and constant. Even though he could have stopped to smell the roses and eat the grass, he didn't. He didn't get distracted. He kept going no matter what. That is another way to have a worthy walk. Junk is going to hit us, junk is going to hit me. People are going to rub me the wrong way, or an obstacle may seem to impede…be longsuffering.

Walk in forbearance. This is the KJV word. Yes, it means to endure one another…and sometimes we must. I know that my wife has to put up with a lot…but she endures it in love. But it goes beyond that. To bear means to hold up, to support. Don't just endure one another, but support one another in unconditional love. Am I irritated by someone? Bear it in love. Does someone need my help or encouragement? Give it in love. "Bear one another's burdens."

 

I am starting to see that these verses really indicate that a worthy walk is one that is outside myself. Little, gentle, patient, bearing and…

 

Walk in unity. I appreciate the fact that Paul understands that being peacefully unified takes work. It isn't easy. It doesn't come naturally. The word for endeavoring means that we have to be diligent. We have to exert effort. But, if we practice being little, if we practice gentleness, if we practice patience, if we practice endurance and support, what do you think the result is going to be? We will be bound together in peaceful unity. Can I do it myself? Nope. It has to be the unity of the Spirit. This has to be a work of God in me. No matter how much I try, no matter if I take this verse and plaster it all over my walls, it isn't going to happen unless God's Spirit does an amazing work in me.

 

Man I need this…and I need to keep it before me all the time. Like I said, pretty practical.