Thursday, June 3, 2010

What I’m Reading Today: Ephesians 4

I am absolutely LOVING reading Ephesians because it feels like a primer written for today about how to go about living our faith in the context of the world.

With that said, it’s important to note that the words the author of Ephesians uses are not necessarily easy words to digest. They are some of the most challenging words I’ve encountered in some time.

The passing begins, for instance, with words telling us to get off our backsides and take action (“I want you to get out there and walk – better yet, run! – on the road God called you to travel”). Next, in this day of rabid individualism the author lifts up a call to radical unity (“Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness”). The author proceeds then to call us on our immature behaviors that threaten our Oneness (“No prolonged infancies among us, please”). And then the author gives us a radical way for rooting out dis-ease – within ourselves and others (“What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth”). The words in the passage make Dr. Phil sound like someone who sugarcoats things!

So what are we to make of all this straight talk?

I can’t speak for you, but for me the lesson is fairly clear: the solution to many of our problems lies right in front of our eyes. Better yet, the solution isn’t rocket science. The solution lies in simply getting back to the basics (i.e. do something, work together, don’t ignore elephants in the room, and speak the truth). Sounds easy! The hard part is putting those words into action.

Perhaps there is a problem that you’ve been wrestling for quite a while that seems awfully complex. If that’s the case, try placing the words from today’s passage into the context of that problem and see if they might help clear up your perspective on the matter.

Til next time…