An Invitation to Become
READ
This week, Paul has given us a very practical picture of what new life in Christ looks like and how this impacts our everyday lives. Today, our passage continues that same path, showing us that being a new creation changes the ways we communicate and treat the people around us.
Take a moment to read Ephesians 4:25-32:
"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
REFLECT
I'm not a Type-A person, but I love making lists.
In school, I'm sure we all had organized friends who loved list-making for the sake of lists. They were the students with color-coded notes and organized pen pouches, and I would look at them with envy as my scribbles (and life in general) were all over the place.
So I love lists, but I'm far from organized (some might even call me a bit frazzled), yet lists help keep me on track, as they give me an idea of what exactly needs to get done and where I need to be.
So when I read this passage, my mind immediately started to make a list:
Am I speaking truthfully?
Is my anger giving Satan a foothold?
Are my hands busy enough so that I'm not stealing (time on the clock at work? stealing others' attention?)? Am I being generous to those in need?
Do my words build others up? Or am I prone to unwholesome talk (gossip, divisiveness, excessive chatter for the sake of being heard)?
Am I bitter? Prone to rage? Do I love to bicker and slander?
Or am I kind and compassionate, forgiving like Christ, who forgave me?
As I made this checklist, I started to measure myself in order to answer the question: Am I being a good Christian? And I'll be honest, I came up short in many ways.
But that's the wrong question.
Sometimes it's easier to ask the wrong question and create a checklist than to get to the root of what a passage is saying.
Look back at the very first word of the passage we read today: "Therefore." Whenever we see that word in Scripture, it should serve as a prompt to look at the verses that come right before it! And they happen to be the verses that we read yesterday:
"You were taught… to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22a-24)
Therefore, this is who I'm calling you to be.
Therefore, put off your old self and embrace the ways of Jesus, where no part of your life goes unchanged: the way you talk, the way you respond when you're angry, the way you give no place for bitterness and malice to take root.
Therefore, forgive others radically, like Christ forgave you.
Therefore, since you and I were created to mirror God's righteousness and holiness, we're called to become more like Him each day in the most ordinary ways. The gospel changes the way we talk, the way we treat others, and the way we don't allow bitterness to consume our hearts.
These verses aren't merely a checklist—they're an invitation to become who we were created to be in Christ.
And this is good news for us all, because I've yet to meet a human who meets all of these standards perfectly 100 percent of the time. But God, in His goodness, isn't grading us by our perfection—He's grading us by the blood of the Lamb! Through Christ we are made new and given a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
So we can read this passage knowing that we've not arrived, but that we are a new creation who is becoming more like Him with each passing day. And so we move about our days in a way that looks different from our old self—and we strive not after a checklist, but after the person of Christ Himself. Praise be to God!
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Does it help you to read these verses as an invitation instead of a checklist? Why or why not?
Looking at the verses above, spend time asking God to reveal to you the ways you need to grow in becoming more like Him. Then reach out to a friend and share what the Lord revealed to you.
REST
Take a moment to rest in God's presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
God, thank You for Your Word and for it being living and active, with the power to save. God, would You help me read this passage as an invitation to put off my old self, and to put on the new self who is created to mirror Your righteousness and holiness. God, would You give me the grace to live a life that's transformed by Your love, and not be enslaved by the idea that I have to complete a checklist of behaviors in order to earn Your love. Thank You for Jesus and for inviting us to a better way of living, one that leads to life, and life abundantly. In Jesus' name, amen.
Port City writer Brittany Salmon wrote today’s devotional.