Your vocation

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

What is a vocation? What is meant by “the vocation wherewith ye are called”? Nothing is more important than this one verse! And nothing is more vital than to understand the import and substance of it. For see! We all have a calling! Just as we may have a personal and gainful employment, and we may have a vocation that earns us a living, so we have a divine call given by the Lord Himself. A call to the Christian life! It is called “an holy calling” in 2 Timothy 1:9. This calling proceeds from God and is the very purpose of our lives. And it is not just for the clergyman or the minister; it is for every person born again and blood-bought by the precious blood of Christ. It is for all who will listen. Walk worthy! Worthy of the vocation! Act it! Show it! Let your life attest to the sayings of your lips. Do you profess Christ? Then you should have a profession that shows it. Our spiritual profession is the Christian life we live. And this entire chapter, the fourth of Ephesians, gives the description of such a life. Will you take the time to read it? We could not explore all of its depth in this short devotional.

Now, dear friends, we know that God has called us to a high calling, a Christian vocation, a spiritual life. And therefore, let us walk worthy of such a wonderful calling. Let us walk in accordance with the heavenly call bestowed upon us. Let us not live as the world, or in the lusts of the flesh and mind. Let us not act as the old man would act, but put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. And if we will do this, how will our life look? Well, we will have lowliness and meekness; we will have long-suffering. We will have peace with one another and forgiveness. We will live in the unity of the Spirit, and will live as though we are of the same body of Christ. We will be truthful with one another, forbearing, loving. Our mouths will not produce filth and foolishness, but we will edify one another. We will not be grieving the Holy Spirit of God, for we will be in obedience and submission to the Spirit of God. We will forgive and be kind. Our hearts will be tender for the broken, the downtrodden, and the poor. Our hearts will be forgiving toward those who have wronged us. Bitterness, malice, and evil speaking will have no place. Beloved, this is the wondrous vocation vouchsafed to us, the calling with which we are identified. Oh, dear Christian, let us walk worthy of this calling, and not ever forget our daily vocation!

“Dear Father, this is a great reminder today of the calling you have placed on us. Thank you that you have not called us to live for this world, and you have not called us to the destruction that comes from the lasciviousness and wickedness of the old man. But you have called us to a new life, a pure life, a clean life, and a godly life. Help us to be daily reminded that this is our vocation. And help us, Lord, to walk worthy of it! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”