Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
Let’s take a close look at this verse. First, Paul tells us that we have a calling; that is, God has a particular purpose for each one of us. Everyone is not called to be an apostle, or prophet, or pastor, etc. – but everyone has a calling upon his or her life.
Then Paul tells us to walk worthy of the calling upon our lives. Paul’s phrasing here is important. He doesn’t merely say to be worthy but to walk worthy of our calling. A walk indicates continual progress. Our calling is not something accomplished in a skinny minute. It is an on-going process. It is absolutely essential for us to continuously draw closer to the Lord in our relationship with Him. Anyone that remains stationary in their Christian experience is in trouble.
You may be spiritually mature in your relationship with the Lord, but if you do not continue to grow spiritually you will lose what you have. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Matthew 13:12. That is the same thing as saying “use it or lose it.” Whatever your Christian experience consists of, use it to move into more of God. If you do not, you will lose it.
Many Christians have a passive spirit, and they do not take the initiative to move into more of God. That was the problem the Laodiceans had (Revelation 3:14-22). They were busy with their religious programs but they didn’t know Christ wasn’t in their midst. They were neither hot nor cold; they were lukewarm, and their lukewarmness was sickening to God. He said, “Because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (verse 16). Had they been hot for God, He could have blessed them. Had they been cold, He could have dealt with them. But in their lukewarmness they were indifferent. Indifference is far worse than being cold. God can discipline a cold Christian, but one that is indifferent is unmovable.
Proverbs 14:11 The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
The Teacher is speaking of spiritual dwellings here. If you are not advancing in your relationship with the Lord, your spiritual dwelling is called a house. If you are walking worthy of your calling always progressing in the Lord, then your spiritual dwelling is a tent, in which case you are among the “upright”. Christians who do not take the initiative to progress spiritually are dangerously close to becoming “the house of the wicked”. That is the reason for Paul’s intensity when he says, “I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that you are walking worthy of your calling. Let your love for the Lord increase until it captivates you and makes you a prisoner in Him. When you really love Him with all your heart, no one will have to tell you to walk worthy. It isn’t hard to feed a hungry person and one who walks worthy is hungry for more of God all the time.
Copyright © 2004 by Henry DuBose