Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
One of the keys to the Christian life (and to life in general) is the idea of replacement theory. To move away from something is great. But to have continued success keeping away from it you must bring something in to replace what you moved away from. In the above passage we have that thought expressed by Paul. He is telling them to move away from bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and all malice. Those are good things to avoid in your life. That alone would be a major life change. But notice what Paul tells them to do instead. He wants them to put on kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness. This is the transformation of the Christian life. We are to put off on thing (our human desires) and to put on another thing (Christlikeness).
Paul actually just said this, earlier in this same chapter:
Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV)
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
God saved us to live a life that is different than before we came to Christ. Putting away the list Paul gives us is important. But putting on what Paul tells us is the difference maker. A lot of people living their natural life can put away something. But it takes the Spirit of God in our lives to give us genuine kindness, tenderness and forgiveness. Those are acts of the Spirit of God. When we navigate life, let us not be just comfortable putting something away, but also put on the acts of the Spirit of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment