…lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called…Ephesians 4:1-6

This is Paul’s halftime speech. This is his locker room motivation. He’s begging…he’s pleading with us…just live a life that is worthy of our call. He’s not asking us to change the whole world. He isn’t asking us to proselytize everyone on the street. He isn’t asking us to sell all our worldly possessions and join a monastery. All he is asking is that we live what we believe. That we live our lives as Christians in such a way that we honor that name…the name of Christ Jesus.

God paid everything to save us. He didn’t even withhold His Son…His Divinity from us. He entered our dirt and filth and sin…subjected himself to the worst of us…allowed us to place our most vile evilness on Him…and even descended into Hell…all for the sake of saving us…of making a way for us to return to Paradise.

And so when He calls us to our jobs and professions, to our marriages, to our children, to our Churches, to our neighborhoods and communities, to our world…Paul begs us to remember the price God paid…and to live a life worthy of that. We’ll never be perfect. But no coach expects his team to be perfect. The expectation, I think, is that we pursue perfection. We strive to be our best…each moment…everytime. That is what I think Paul is saying. Remember you were bought at a price. Remember that you bear His name. Remember that you are God’s child. And act like it. Act in a way that will honor Him….that will make Him proud.

Father, I know that so often I fall short. So many times I emerge from a situation and am convicted by what I should have done or should have said. But I ask that You continue to transform me…continue to erase the evil in me…the dirt I have let build up, and fill me with Your Spirit…with Your fruit…that I may share it with those around me. Help me to live the life You have for me…the life You desire for me. Don’t let me compromise or take a shortcut. I want to live for you…I want to live out loud for you. I am so thankful for this life You have given me…for your constant blessings. I want to live boldly for You…without fear…completely abandoned to You and Your will. Help me, Father. I can’t do it without You. Make me like Your Son…and through Him…make me worthy of Your call. On my own I will always fall short. But with You, through You, In You…I am worthy.

All praise be Yours…forever and ever.