Ephesians 4:1 begins with the word “Therefore.” Now, we know that anytime you see a “Therefore,” you need to see what it is therefore. In other words, look at the context.

The context here is the last three chapters. Even as he begins urging us, he reminds us that he is a prisoner for the Lord. He knows hardship and he himself serves the Lord. From this position, he urges us to walk worthy of the calling we have received.

Now, urgency indicates action, quick action, passionate action. Think about what the church at Ephesus was experiencing. They had gone from being two separate groups who did not mingle to one unified group. This was a mystery and wonderful, but there had to be some adjustment practically as this was happening. (My dad used to say that one thing he heard most in a church was “We ain’t never done it that way before!” Can you imagine as two very different cultures came together?)

Paul urges them to walk worthy of the calling they had received. I have good news. This is a walk we can do as well even if we are in a wheelchair. We can “walk worthy” or act out the things we learned in chapters 1-3:

• adopted through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5)
• all the things Paul listed in both prayers (Ephesians 1:15-19 and Ephesians 3:14-21)
• saved by grace (Ephesians 2)
• alive and unified in Christ (Ephesians 3)

In other words, we need to be living as children of God to walk worthy. This is our calling. It brings to mind the theme, “What Would Jesus Do?” That is what we need to do. Our calling is to live lives that glorify God. Yes, that means us as disabled/chronically ill/isolated individuals. (Isn’t that cool! We are included!)

In a sense, we are two cultures colliding as well, those who are home-bound/disabled/chronically ill and those who aren’t. There are definitely things that both sides must adjust to in order to walk worthy in loving each other. There are different perspectives for each side. We need to come together in unity and Christ’s love. We will be looking at ways to do this as we walk through the practical chapters of Ephesians.

See you tomorrow!