The Ultimate Filter
“Being diligent to
preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3 NASB
There’s a simple take-away
from this passage all by itself: be hard-working toward protecting the unity that the
Holy Spirit has brought us into with one another. Pretty simple. Seems so straightforward to me
right now. However, early in my walk I did not even know this verse existed. Later,
when I allowed myself to drift, I was not concerned about unity. Preservation? I
protected my own interests and selfishness. To have understood this Scripture
back then! Urgh.
Up to this point in Ephesians
chapter four, Paul has been saying that the believers—them then, us now—must walk
the walk and not just play saintly dress up. Kind of goes back to those
white-washed sepulchers Jesus spoke about.
Let me put it like this,
this weekend I got schooled on the touch-up and photo-editing trends of social
media. If you edit your photos, I’m not judging you. If I knew how to whiten my
teeth in photos, I probably would. In fact, anyone that looks close at the
Carter wedding photos, will note someone whitened my teeth. (Not to throw the
family member who did so under the bus or anything, it is just social media
culture). However, my teeth are naturally stained from sweet tea circa just-past-my-sippy-cup
days to present day, and coffee. That is life. What Paul has essentially been
saying up to this point in Ephesians, though, is that Believer is not a filter that we slap on ourselves to make ourselves
look good to other believers. Being a believer
is the filter Christ has placed on us so that we may look good when the Father
looks at us, it is the filter of Christ’s Blood on the Cross.
Now, having had that gift
bestowed on us and having accepted it there is a certain expectation God has
places on us as Paul is pointing out in 4:3. We are to protect the unity of the
Spirit, which God has pulled us within in His sin-filter, Jesus Christ. We do
this by humbling ourselves with just how small we are and how infinite our God
is, by checking our pride and letting things go because those are His commands.
God wants us to live in
peace with one another as a faith-community. I believe that means pouring into
the gifts and talents of others, just as I have been blessed to have others
pour into my own. I believe that looks like us setting aside our differences of
opinion and way of doing things to see the kingdom advanced as we are obedient
to God. I believe that is experienced as a community by recognizing even the
best of us have sin and the need of Christ’s filter with God, so we must
forgive one another elsewise we may not enjoy Christ’s filter with God. (Matthew 6:15 NASB).
Ultimately, Ephesians 4:3,
being such a simplistic verse drives a massive concept home. For us to be
hard-workers who preserve the unity of the Spirit Christ baptized us in as
believers—you know, part of that Divine Filter—we must accept Christ, all that
He teaches us through the Word, and we must daily take up our crosses and be
Christ-centered. Not self-centered. After
all, Our Filter is about us being restored to God and putting Him at the center
of our lives.
I don’t know about you,
but I would rather have the filter of God than the filter of a thousand apps.
What do you think? How can you work toward preserving the Spirits unity?
Until Next Time!
God Bless
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