“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.” (Ephesians 5: 1 – 2 NLT)
Again, we need to pay attention to the main idea of this chapter as we look at the next practical steps Paul tells us to take.What does a life filled with love actually look like?
Ephesians 5: 15 – 21 NLT
Living by the Spirit’s Power
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
“Be careful how you live”. How? We need to make wise choices. We need to make the most of every opportunity we have to live in an open and honest way in a culture that is quite okay with a lot of sinful behaviour. Think/ponder! Understand what God wants me/you to do.
How does that work out in practice, especially when I’m to live a life filled with love? We can take some time to look over our schedules. How much of my time is spent doing something I enjoy but has nothing to do with being a loving, helpful person? How do I make decisions about what to spend my money on? Do I make sudden rash decisions because something catches my attention? When I make a decision, do I think about the impact that decision will have on those around me? Or is it just to make my life easier?
How much do I pray about decisions I make? “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” When I look back over my life, I see myself thinking carefully about decisions, but not praying about them. I trusted my own intelligence to guide my life. Even now, how many times do I start my day asking God to help me be aware of what he would like me to do?
God gives us some advice on how to live well. “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Don’t let other things like wine take over your thoughts and decisions. If we’re honest, we can admit that God isn’t a major part of our thoughts in a day – actually, likely a minor part. We might start the day with devotions and prayer, maybe 20 minutes. And then on goes the day – working, seeing friends, being with family, watching TV, etc. It’s a real challenge to talk with God throughout our day; to be conscious of his presence.
I love these more down-to-earth suggestions: “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I suspect my love for music makes this suggestion special to me. Play Christian music as you do work around your house and/or in your car. You can sing along even if you’re tone deaf. God will love to hear you. Thank God for the various events in your day. Thank him that you got some work done, that you met with a friend, that your children actually went to bed peacefully without a struggle, that you’re fairly healthy … any small thing that made your day pleasant. You can even thank God for a tough time that you managed to get through okay.
And then there is that last piece of advice from God: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Our culture tells us to put ourselves first. It’s a challenge for us who grew up in that culture to know how much we give to others and how much we put into our own lives. It’s definitely something we need to pray about. What is that balance between looking after ourselves and helping others?
These verses in Ephesians really make us stop and think about our relationship with God. And they challenge us to live in a way that is loving and helpful, just as Christ was to and for us.
Our song for today is I Lift My Hands by Chris Tomlin.