As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1
Paul urges us to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. What does that mean? There are many believers who go through much of life wondering what “their calling” is. If I don’t know what my calling is, how in the world can I live a life worthy of it? Paul’s encouragement is to our calling as Christians, no matter what we are doing. The “calling” doesn’t necessarily refer to a ministerial role. As God may have called us as a business owner, a haircutter, a gas station attendant, a server at a restaurant, and nurse or doctor, or any other profession, God has called us to live a live worthy of His name. How do we do that?
Think of someone with a vocation of working at a lumberyard. One day I need some materials and advice for a project. I go to the lumberyard to find both. The employee helping me asks questions and gives suggestions about what I need. Of course, he is doing his job of working for his boss and furthering the business, but there is more. When I leave, I feel that I have been heard, valued, and well-assisted. By giving me these impressions, the employee was walking worthy of his calling.
In the same way, the Lord expects us to do everything for His glory and honor. Our words, our attitudes, our behavior, our efforts, our work ethic…all should be to the highest standard possible. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Solomon exhorts us in Ecclesiastes 9:10, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Are we living our lives worthy of being called ‘followers of Jesus Christ’? When people watch us work, are they impressed with how well we are doing it and that we are doing it with joy? Are we being an example of Christ to them?
In Acts 18 we read about the Apostle Paul as a tent maker – actually making and selling tents. I ‘bet you anything’ that people that went to him found a man of his word, making tents of the best workmanship possible, having the tents ready when he promised and doing it all with a very positive attitude which he probably exhibited to each one of his customers. It’s very possible that conversations may have started while the customers waited, and they left being encouraged and with a positive attitude. I’m sure his life, his words, his attitudes and his work exhibited Christ.
About a year or so ago, we met and had a number of conversations with a man and his daughter who lived about 5-6 houses down from ours. It turned out they were believers and we had some very interesting conversations. As we walked by their home one day with our dog, they were sitting on their front porch and we stopped and remarked on their beautiful perfect lawn. We found out that they were just renting their house and his philosophy has always been to leave the house and property in better condition than when they arrived. Now that’s living a life worthy of the calling – leaving a good impression of a follower of Christ.
That’s the attitude we should all have…living a life worthy of our calling. In any job we have, we need to be sincere, honest, and trustworthy. Let’s do our best to live our life well pleasing to God and to those around us.