How can our lives reflect God? As beloved children, we are called to represent Him through our actions, our thoughts, and our words. Every Christian should have an innate desire to live like Christ, but this world has a way of pulling Christians away from that desire. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, challenges his readers to be emulators of God. To imitate God means that we are going to walk, live, think, and be like Christ. Let’s consider our walk.
The Walk of Disobedience: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (2:1 – 2).
Before Christ, our walk was in accordance with the world. We were labeled dead, disobedient, and doomed. Instead of following God, we followed the world, Satan, and our sinful desires. These three influences played a part in our condition.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He Loved us, even when we were dead in our transgression, made us alive with Christ. Before we were lifeless, hopeless, and under condemnation. But God rescued us from sin and death, and we now have hope because of Christ. With this hope, our lives should reflect the life of Christ.
Walk in Good Works: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2:10).
God did not just save us from the wrath we deserve, He saved us to make something beautiful. We are God’s workmanship and have His work of art our lives should be a reflection of Christ. With us being created new God has set aside His works that we should walk in them. His works prove that we are walking as one of God’s children. Paul in chapter 4:1 – 3 lays out these works for His beloved children.
Walk Worthy: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:1 – 3).
Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received God’s works are as follows:
● Humility
● Gentleness
● Patience
● Tolerance for one another in love
These good works preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Paul uses the word “diligent,” to cultivate unity one must be willing to work. Peace and unity just don’t happen; we have to work at it. Peace and unity must be seen in the church (4:11 – 13) in our marriages (5:21 – 32) and in our homes (6:1 – 4). We have been created in Christ to pursue these good works and these works are from God.
Walk in Truth: So, this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (4:17 – 18).
After encouraging the church to speak the truth in love. Paul admonishes them to no longer live as the Gentiles. The application for the Christian could be read as, “You must no longer walk just as the world, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God.”
One must be a fool to give up the spiritual blessing found in Christ for eternal punishment. Every Christian must walk per God’s will and not the world. The same God that was concerned about Israel’s walk under the Law, is the same God concerned about our walk today. “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9). This passage tells me that our walk as God’s children matters. The question is, does this walk matter to you?
