Today, let Paul’s words to the Ephesians be a charge to us for the week:
So then, putting away falsehood,
let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors,
for we are members of one another.
Be angry but do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not make room for the devil.
Thieves must give up stealing;
rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands,
so as to have something to share with the needy.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is useful for building up, as there is need,
so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were marked with a seal
for the day of redemption.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath
and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
and be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
One by one, Paul lists the struggles that confronted those
he loved in Ephesus, his sisters and brothers.
He had his struggles, too, after all.
So for each temptation he gives a practice
that stands in opposition, practices which do not
attempt to make weaknesses into strengths, but
which cover weaknesses with existing strengths.
He does not try to shut the mouth of the extrovert,
but to have them become talkative about the truth.
He does not try to quench the feelings of the emotional,
but to have them focus on the emotions that bring
peace and healing to relationships.
All of this is done to help us become more like Jesus,
not so that we will be worthy of being chosen,
because we have already been chosen.
We are already children of God.
We do this so that we can “live in love,” so we can:
be easy for our sisters and brothers to work alongside,
be attractive for strangers to come alongside,
be aware of the movement of God and stay by his side.
May God help us use our strengths today
to work around our weaknesses,
not to deny them, but to disempower them.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
