Be Completely Humble And Gentle
As a
prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling
you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with
one another in love. Make every effort
to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all.
But to each one of us
grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he
ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he
ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He
who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in
order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the
prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no
longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there
by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their
deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become
in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him
the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows
and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:1-16
The
proper measure of our spiritual condition is the quality of our lives, which is
measured by such attributes as lowliness, gentleness, and longsuffering.
Our love for God is measured by our love for one another.
Our Daily Bread –