Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Selfless Representation
Pastor Scott
Monday, January 26, 2004
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"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called."
(Ephesians 4:1)
"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called" (Eph. 4:1). Our vocation is to love God and to love our neighbor. Paul says we are to walk worthy of that job, that calling. This vocation is who you are. You're not an electrician, a computer programmer, or a government employee. You're an ambassador of God's love. That's first and foremost. You don't live to yourself; you don't die to yourself. God's love doesn't make us feel all warm, fuzzy and secure. In your vocation you receive God's love in order to readily transfer that love to those in need. You must know and believe the love that God has to you.
Paul wants us to minister this love in lowliness, meekness, patience and forbearance (Eph. 4:2). That is the expression of God's love. God wants us to empty ourselves and represent Him. In the process we endeavor "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3). Flesh always wants to polarize, discriminate, and isolate so it feels comfortable, accepted and prominent. We want our worth recognized and appreciated. We like to be in the arena where we can excel to be above and not beneath. We don't like to be dependent upon or subordinate to others. But Paul calls us to come together in a spirit of lowliness and meekness, to love one another.
Paul then talks about the gifts that were given, the ministry gifts placed within the Body of Christ. Jesus gave these gifts--apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers--for one purpose (4:11). So many have really missed what the Spirit of God has done. We've produced a professional clergy. In our society, our mentality is that the professional clergy are hirelings. We pay them to do this job. The Scripture speaks totally to the contrary. Their job description is to perfect the saints to do the work of the ministry (4:12). This is how they assume the role of the greatest among us being the servant of all. The ministry gifts are to give themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. They are willing to love enough to lay down their lives for their friends.
Any of you who are the head of your homes realize that laying down your life is not an easy job. It's not easy to say no. It's not easy to be the administrator of God's love as you drive foolishness from your children, not sparing for their crying. It's not easy to love your wife more than you love yourself, to be willing to die for her, to honor her as the weaker vessel, and to understanding the role that she's in. It's not easy to pay the price to be the one to hear from God and set the course through the wilderness. It's not easy to have to answer why it appears at this time as though God is not meeting our needs or responding the way we thought He might.
The Scripture says these ministry gifts are to be jealous for the glory of God. They're to perfect each particular member to do the work of the ministry. They're to tear down all of the delusion of self, personal glory, personal grandeur, self promotion and self preference. The job of the ministry gifts is to bring a community to selflessness.