Sept. 26

Ephesians 4:17-32

When we are going about our day it is so easy to pick out people.  We tend to assess a person by the way they dress, as this gives us insight into their belief paradigm, such as when we see Jewish people walking to temple on Shabat wearing a Yarmulke, or we see the crossing guard standing outside of Strawberry Hill in the morning wearing a turbine. But how do we identify a person who claims to follow Jesus? With the exception of wearing a cross, are we bearing our cross?  Paul gives us insight into a description of what a disciple might look like, and if I'm understanding this correctly, it's what we wear on the inside that sets us apart. He begins by pointing out that the first thing that sets us apart is that we are not stumbling around in the futility of our old way of thinking.  He continues to say that we put on our new self, renewed by the spirit of our minds. Our language is also different from the rest of the world. We don't speak harmful words, and we live our lives focused and in tune with God so that we do not grieve the Holy Spirit.  We get rid of bitterness, rage and anger through confession (on a daily basis). Sounds pretty rigid, but in fact we have more freedom in Christ than we realize because we are no longer bound by the chains of this world. Although outwardly people might not be able to tell we are different, we are completely redefined and realigned on the inside and the reflection of the glory of our God is what should catch someone's eye.  That's what makes us stand out in a crowd.  We carry an abundance of love inside of us which doesn't really belong to us, and is incomprehensible, but the truth is that by faith we have been saved by grace, and that changes everything about us. We are kind when it is hard, forgive even when we think we're right, and remember, it wasn't the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was love.  We give as we have received. The world will know we are Christian not by what we wear, but by our love. I pray we all recognize the opportunity God gives us today to love someone.

Randi