"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Ephesians 4:1
The sleeves were pure white leather and smelled like a new pair of gloves. The body was deep maroon, with six large snaps down the front. I can still feel the cuffs and waistband around me. Nothing ever fit me better.
It was my first letter jacket. I rarely took it off. The big "G" stood for Golden High School, that bastion of academic and athletic prowess. And I was a letterman! One hundred and eighteen pounds of pure sophomoric bedazzlement.
Whenever I think of my new identity in Christ, I remember the joys and the responsibilities of wearing that letter jacket. The letter had to be given; it was awarded. It was an honor, and it spoke of an identity, a belonging. When you sewed that letter on your jacket, you represented the whole school, and every other letterman from that school. I became acutely aware that displaying that huge "G" on my chest changed how people looked at me, what they expected of me, and how they viewed the school I was representing. I remember those expectations and evaluations as a positive incentive to live up to the ideals of my school. Wherever I walked with my letter jacket on I had to remember that my words, actions, and attitudes spoke for a whole institution, and my whole team.
When Paul wrote these words to the Ephesians, he was not laying a guilt trip on them. He was inciting them to step into their privileges. The word "worthy" literally means "weight," something substantial. He is urging us to live up to the weighty blessings and substantial privileges we have already received in Christ. It is a positive incentive to know that, once people around me know I belong the Jesus Christ, I am marked. The words, attitudes and integrity of my day reflect on the one whose name is associated with me. I am advertising 24/7 whether I know it or not. It is also a positive incentive for me. Every day I should "put on" Christ, remembering and treasuring what he has given to me. I have a purpose. Every day, every situation, every problem is not mine alone. I have a new identity, a new source of power, and a new brotherhood wrapped around me. Living "worthy" is a good fit.
Roger Thompson is the Senior Pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, MN.
Whenever I think of my new identity in Christ, I remember the joys and the responsibilities of wearing that letter jacket. The letter had to be given; it was awarded. It was an honor, and it spoke of an identity, a belonging. When you sewed that letter on your jacket, you represented the whole school, and every other letterman from that school. I became acutely aware that displaying that huge "G" on my chest changed how people looked at me, what they expected of me, and how they viewed the school I was representing. I remember those expectations and evaluations as a positive incentive to live up to the ideals of my school. Wherever I walked with my letter jacket on I had to remember that my words, actions, and attitudes spoke for a whole institution, and my whole team.
When Paul wrote these words to the Ephesians, he was not laying a guilt trip on them. He was inciting them to step into their privileges. The word "worthy" literally means "weight," something substantial. He is urging us to live up to the weighty blessings and substantial privileges we have already received in Christ. It is a positive incentive to know that, once people around me know I belong the Jesus Christ, I am marked. The words, attitudes and integrity of my day reflect on the one whose name is associated with me. I am advertising 24/7 whether I know it or not. It is also a positive incentive for me. Every day I should "put on" Christ, remembering and treasuring what he has given to me. I have a purpose. Every day, every situation, every problem is not mine alone. I have a new identity, a new source of power, and a new brotherhood wrapped around me. Living "worthy" is a good fit.
Roger Thompson is the Senior Pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, MN.
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