Called by Name

-

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1 NASB

     Having personally been incarcerated, when I read the word prisoner, it reminds me of the total submission one must make toward those who hold the keys to all the locks. Everything is on the officer’s time and say. When we ate, what we ate, when we slept, when we got up, what we wore, and even where we could walk was up to the authority of those who watched over us. If a Corrections Officer said, “Young Man, tuck that shirt in and shut your mouth…” you tucked your shirt in and shut your mouth. If a corrections officer told you to strip naked, squat and cough after they allowed you to see your family in a visitation room, well, you did so and were grateful you got to see your family.

     In Ephesians 4:1, Paul is calling himself a prisoner, a captive, someone that is bound in Christ. However, this is not by force or a bad decision but by the conviction of his spirit and a personal decision to follow Jesus. This is huge to me and something that I think each of us needs to consider from the lens of what being a prisoner is like. In two words, being a prisoner is total submission.

     In today’s prison system, you can choose not to submit to the authority of the officers, and you’ll go to the hole, they’ll feed you loaf which is the most awful thing you have ever tasted, and you’ll be cut off from everyone and everything. I did five months in the hole at age fifteen, and then later did seven months in the hole at 16. In the last few months I have come to view Hell as an eternal stint in a windowless isolation cell. Talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth. Definitely not where I want to spend eternity.

     Yet, to avoid all of that in the prison system, all that had to be done was follow the rules and do what was expected. Isn’t that the same thing as walking in a manner with which we are worthy to be called? Now, I am not saying let’s be legalists and ignore Grace. However, based on what Paul is saying here, we should live like Christ expects us to live in the love and mercy He has shown us. We should live our lives in a manner that shows we are worthy of His divine invitation to be called sons and daughters, as well as embrace the salvation He has provided us. Not out of fear or force like the penal systems of the world, but out of love and the realization that He has called us by name, and we have received the surname of adopted children of God. Rather than state numbers forced onto a felon, we have essentially received the surname: Godchild!

     If Godchild were the last name on your license, how would you act? How would your Father expect you to act? If you grew up knowing that Godchild was on your birth certificate and that you were an adopted child of God, who loved you and that your own Family had laid their life down for you so that you could live…would that not convict you to live in a manner worthy of such a last name?

Until Next Time,
God Bless  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post-Prodigal

-
          One of my biggest struggles as a believer in Christ is who I have been, versus who Christ says I am as a believer in Him. I admit, I have allowed the self-critical voice in my head, or what others say and think marginalize the greatness of Who He Is in me and what He can do in me. In my past’s personal walk, I have had the tendency to be more of a Prodigal Son, than a steadfast believer. How many of us have had that: “Give me salvation, Father. All right, now, I got this…” sort of mentality?               I wonder, if we are being transparent with ourselves, how many of us have allowed our missteps, whatever it is—that abortion, that DUI, that undeleted browser history, that drug abuse or that affair—to label and imprison us? How many of us have succumbed to the smug, self-satisfied taunts of “She will never change! You know she aborted…” or “He is still just an addict. Give him enough rope, he’ll hang himself…” Or, “Once a cheater, always a cheater.” Have you allowe
Read more

Be Free in Christ and Thankful!!!

-
 “I give thanks to my God upon every remembrance of you, always in my every prayer for all of you, making the prayer with joy, because you participated in the gospel from the first day until now, convinced of this same thing, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ, just as it is right for me to think this about all of you because I have you in my heart since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you are sharers of the grace with me.” Philippians 1:3-7 LEB      Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in life's struggles and forget to give thanks to God. I know there have been times I struggled with thankfulness in my life. Before I was saved and even after I accepted Christ, I had moments where I did not thank God for the people in my life or the circumstances I found myself in. Personally, there have been times in my life where I wanted to see that unique-something about myself that God sees;
Read more

Be of Kind-Mind!

-
“Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” Romans 12:16 NASB      It’s easy to get caught up in how the world operates. Especially now with the way social media lets everyone have a voice. I am for having a voice. However, a lot of times, what we see is not helpful or even cordial toward one another. A positive post that is uplifting and edifying can be overlooked while a post that smears someone has a million views and thousands of hateful comments. As believers, we are called to be set apart from that and to be different with one another.      One thing God has made clear to me through the course of my life is everything except redemption and all that comes with receiving God’s gift of salvation is fleeting. If we are blessed to see old age, the super-smart must contend with losing memories just as those whom the culture labels as intellectually lacking. The well-to-do person who l
Read more