Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
Paul says we are to walk worthy of our calling. That sounds simple enough, but do you know what your calling is? You can’t walk worthy of your calling if you don’t know what it is. There are great benefits in a worthy walk with God. For example, Paul, in Romans 8:28, says that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God has a purpose for your life. Many Christians are not aware that He has a purpose for their lives. At least, they are not aware of it enough to find out what it is and then to dedicate themselves to becoming what He wants them to be.
Have you thought about God’s purpose for your life? Has it been revealed to you? Have you set your heart to become what He wants you to be? These things precede a worthy walk of your calling. It is only when His purpose for your life is the most important thing to you that you are able to walk worthy of your calling.
Paul not only tells us to walk worthy of our calling but he proceeds to tell us how to do it. You could say, “Well, God has called me to be an apostle, or a prophet, or a pastor, or some other ministry.” No, He hasn’t called you to be any of those. Jesus Christ is the only apostle; He just needs someone to apostle through. He is the only prophet; He just needs someone to prophet through. Do you understand? He is looking for those who are willing to empty themselves of self so He can be what He wants to be through them. He wants channels to minister through. So, you see, He is not calling you to be something special in yourself. He wants you to empty yourself of self so He can be glorified in and through you (II Thessalonians 1:10).
Paul described himself as a prisoner of the Lord, and he does it for a reason. He is an example for us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. II Thessalonians 3:7-9.
Therefore, if we are going to walk worthy of our calling, then we need to be prisoners of the Lord, too. Now, to the worldly minded that might not sound good, but it is the best thing that could happen to a Christian. How does one become a prisoner of the Lord? It’s simple; you just learn to love Him with all of your heart. Love is that which makes you a captive of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know what He does with His prisoners? He ascends on high and takes them with Him. When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive. Ephesians 4:8. And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6.
Every husband and father that loves his family understands the captivating force of love. Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is that which can make you a prisoner of the Lord. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment of all was, He responded, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31.
This is how you walk worthy of your calling. You become a prisoner of the Lord by learning to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Now, don’t pick some other commandment as a substitute. Keeping other commandments has very little value, if any, without first obeying the first one. How many people you haven’t killed doesn’t mean very much if you haven’t learned to love the Lord with all your heart. The same goes for any other commandment or any good work you might do. Going to church all your life is pretty much a wasted effort if you don’t become a prisoner of the Lord.
I would point out one other thing: the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Now here is a yardstick you can use to determine whether you love the Lord with all your heart. If you are a prisoner of the Lord, you will also be a prisoner to your neighbor. When you really love the Lord with all your heart, it will automatically flow to your neighbor, too. Saints, walk worthy of your calling!
Copyright © 2004 by Henry DuBose