Latest / Still, Here / Walk Worthy of the Calling – Love Beyond Measure

Transcript

Walk Worthy of the Calling – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here, a quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 3.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I therefore,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: the prisoner in the Lord,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: For three chapters, Paul has told us what God has already done.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We are blessed, chosen, adopted, redeemed, made alive, brought near, and rooted in love.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Grace has come first again and again.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Only then does Paul say, Walk worthily of the calling with which you were called.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Paul gives us this order for a reason.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, I must live well enough to deserve what God has given me.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But Paul is not asking us to become worthy enough for grace.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: He is inviting us to let our lives increasingly reflect the grace we have already received.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Grace gives us a place to stand.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Love teaches us how to walk.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Obedience feels different when it begins there.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: If I believe my belonging depends on how well I perform, every failure becomes threatening.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I monitor myself.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: I compare.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: I worry about whether I am disappointing God.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Even good actions can become attempts to secure a place that grace has already given.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: When I begin from belonging, obedience can become thankfulness taking form.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I can ask a different question.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: What would it look like for the grace I have received to become visible in the way I live?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Paul immediately names humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing one another in love.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: These qualities can be imitated for a while through effort.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: We can act humble while still needing to be noticed.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: We can appear gentle while resentment builds underneath.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: We can force patience while secretly keeping score.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Grace forms something deeper.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: As the need to prove ourselves loosens,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: we become more able to remain present with another person.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: We do not have to win every interaction.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: We do not have to defend every weakness.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: We do not have to make sure everyone recognizes our spiritual maturity.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Humility becomes more natural when I no longer need to be greater than you.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Gentleness becomes possible when my security is not threatened by your response.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Patience grows when I stop treating another person's unfinished life as an obstacle
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: to my own peace.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Love becomes less performative because it is flowing from a place already filled by God.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Walking from belonging creates a quiet kind of confidence.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: You are no longer trying to find your place with God while moving through the world.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: You already have a place.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can enter the conversation,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: the responsibility,
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: the difficult moment, and the ordinary task from the assurance of being known.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: This does not make the Christian life passive.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: It makes it responsive.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Grace becomes an inward movement toward the life God is forming.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Obedience becomes a willingness to cooperate with what love is already doing within you.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: There will still be choices to make.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: There will still be habits to release,
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: apologies to offer, boundaries to set, and acts of courage to take.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: But those actions no longer have to carry the burden of proving that you deserve God.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: You do not walk worthy so God will love you more.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: You walk worthy because you are discovering how deeply you are already loved.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Today, let one ordinary action rise from that place.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: God of grace, You have already given me a place within your love.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I release the fear that I must earn what you have freely given.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let humility, gentleness, patience, and love grow from what you are forming within me.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Teach me to walk from belonging with quiet confidence and let my choices become
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: a grateful response to grace.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as you move on to what comes next, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is already mine.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I walk in it.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is already mine.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I walk in it.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is already mine.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I walk in it.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.