“The Departed”
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Ephesians 4:1-2 NASB
Worthy– Jack Nicholson delivered a memorable line in the movie The Departed. “In the end we all die. Act accordingly.” That’s the essence of the Greek word axiōs. From Paul’s perspective, we have been rescued, redeemed from the verdict all sinners rightfully deserve. Act accordingly. Live today in the light of your freedom to exhibit God’s grace. Demonstrate what it means to be called into His kingdom, to know that your life is worth more than the few years you will spend in this age. Do something praiseworthy. Honor the one who gave you another chance.
We all raise our hands and shout, “Hallelujah!”
The meeting ends. The celebration fades. We return to normal relationship friction. “Act accordingly” seems like a distant dream now. Today we’re just trying to survive the emotional trauma of being misunderstood, blamed and rejected. Not all the time, of course. We vacillate between moments of harmony and connection fatigue. We want to love and be loved. We want to be worthy of being understood and accepted. But life is often a flail (you can look that up in a medieval dictionary). We seemed to be connected to the ones who cause the most gashes, spill the most blood, and produce the most pain. Now we wonder if the solution isn’t exactly the opposite of Paul’s exhortation. Pull back. Retreat. Protect. No more blows of abandonment. No longer a desertion victim.
Except that doesn’t work either. Life in an insulated shell is empty. Just going through the routine of the day, trying not to feel alone, the teeter-totter takes over. One moment we manage to reach out. A splinter of joy pokes us and we hope again. The next moment a harsh word, a critical look and we’re right back there, sinking. Up and down, never really getting anywhere except discouraged. How can Paul (or the Messiah, for that matter) expect us to walk in a manner worthy of eternal grace when we live in a world of temporal despair? It seems as though the only thing Paul’s words offer is the guilt of knowing we are failing to do what God asks.
Perhaps pursuing “in a manner worthy” is not the right approach after all. Perhaps we need to concentrate on humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance—and then discover that worthiness is the by-product of these other actions. In fact, worthiness isn’t something I can produce, but I can practice (as best I can) humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance. If Brené Brown is right, worthiness is a state of mind, not an object of performance. What do you think? Want to try humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance and see if worthiness comes along behind?
Topical Index: worthy, axiōs, Ephesians 4:1-2
I haven’t gotten far, but I didn’t get here by Pulling back. Retreating. Protecting. But that was only because I desired to escape more than to stay in the place of pain. Mine has been more of a slow and painful crawl to parts unknown with frequent detours into ditches of depression and extended stays in darkness, but hopefully NO MORE.
I know too well the flail.
Too oft I felt it flay.
My heart afraid,
My nerves were frayed
and yet
I fain to stay.
But when I deigned to open my eyes
I saw that it was ME
who wielded the flail
and not whom I supposed.
Ditto with me, too, Michael.
Me, three…… but then something inside gives me strength to say, “I didn’t come this far to only come this far”…….. but then other times…. I feel schizophrenic emotionally as it flips and flops and flips back again. No one, not even me, know what is happening because it happens so fast and then I realize that some of it is internal. Sometimes it’s not and it’s just relationship. OH! To live humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance and see if worthiness comes along behind! I’ll try this today and see how much less flailing occurs…..
Amen to that…. Could have written it myself.
Try more poetry, Michael. I was humming along.
Suffering is optional, but we seem to never learn HOW to make it so unless and until we get to the end of the delusions that prop up the flesh. Opposition is supposed to come from without the fortress: not from the migraine-producing second-guessing infighting that the reign of the Self always seems to come so plagued with. We all start out “opposing ourselves” (2Tim. 2:25) in some way and need some instruction. Disaster is a good instructor. When the real indians start pouring over the hills, we are far more likely to circle our internal wagons and run behind our ComFORTer and quit being so “doubleminded and unstable in all (our) ways”.
I think suffering comes from the friendly fire of the double-minded self. We are promised (and can have) peace no matter what, but that can only happen after the internal turmoil caused by the infighting of the self has ceased and the throne has been restored to its rightful Owner. We are designed to be only the sanctuary for the Most High. Suffering is what happens when we mistake our selves to be our own sanctuary. Internal peace which is the side effect, if you will, of the presence of our Comforter is the right way to keep disaster out in the world where it belongs, no matter how much it may pound on our door. I think suffering shows us where we are not availing ourselves correctly of that Comforter yet.
I am my own whipping boy!
Why are we so addicted to the whip. I’ve finally learned to drop the whip. It serves no purpose. Skip left out an important ingredient, in the last sentence, that the scripture above said was vital. Your can do all that Skip recommended, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance.— but without love you are wasting your time and energy. If the Most High is my strength, what/who else do I need. And somewhat along the same line. Laurita: Skip’s ‘Three Dog Night JUne 15, 2015 you said “Joy comes from the absence of chaos.”‘ If your had said “happiness” I would have agreed. ( I’m not trying to be picky–I just love to argue—discuss ideas). Joy I find is based on my trust in God. I’ve finally learned (for me), that it is in the deepest trails that I learn the most, and builds more trust in God. My Joy has nothing to do with Happiness, There are times I’m not happy but still there is JOY in my heart. —-you people are awesome, I’m glad I caught up with you-all. Shalom
Nice delineation, Ray. I have since narrowed joy down ( for now, anyway!) to a cause: specifically joy is the strength we are given to face difficulty. Happiness, you are right, is much more of a mere byproduct: an effect of a cause well done.
Michael, your AMAZING poem (the relentless rhythm, the alliteration, AND the message) really works to squarely hit the heart (i printed it out for a loved one)….keep up the good work! ( unfortunately, no one can write the way you do until you have actually LIVED it.)