Seeing the Face of Christ in our World--Tuesday, April 3

Ephesians 4:1-6

4I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

“Where there is peace there you find Jesus.”  In considering the text of Ephesians 4:1-6, I am drawn to the part of the verse that emphases “there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.”  The focus is not on our worth but on the worth of our calling. In Ephesians 4:3 the way to lead a life worthy of our calling is to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". Verse 2 tells us how to maintain spiritual unity: "With all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love.  Eph. 4:3 calls this the unity of the Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who frees our hearts from irrational, self-defensive prejudices so that we are willing to own up to true convictions about Christ (1 Cor. 2:14-16). It's the Holy Spirit who enables us to have faith in Christ and to cry out to God with confidence, "Abba, Father." And it is the Holy Spirit who bears the fruit of love in our lives and gives us a common care for each other .So our common convictions and confidence and care are all from the Holy Spirit. Therefore Paul calls it the "unity of the Spirit".  So the face of God is seen when there are efforts of peace, in negation table, in governmental chambers or in churches.  Our mission should be to bring peace to all people, places and things.
Tray Smith

For reflection:

What is “the calling to which you have been called?”

How does your attitude and demeanor affect the world around you?

What might be the fruits of a church that displays “unity of the Spirit?”