I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Ephesians 4:1
When a young friend of mine decided to become a plumber, he took the challenge very seriously. He attended a course at a technical school, and was the top student in his class. He bought all the books he could afford related to his trade, and spent many hours practicing and working with plumbing tools. He also spent long hours with older plumbers, to learn all of the ‘inside stuff’ related to the work, saying he wanted to become the best plumber that he could. There was another aspect of being a plumber that he was very careful about: he always dressed neatly and kept his tooks in very good order, and he made it a point to treat customers with the greatest of respect. He felt it was his responsibility to give people a good impression of plumbers. As far as he was concerned, plumbing was a noble calling, and, like a good Christian, he wanted to be worthy of his calling.
God has called us to good works, to a life of testimony for our Lord, and to worship and service for the Lord Jesus Christ. No higher calling exists on the planet. No greater honour can be conferred on human beings than to be called to live our lives as Christians. If we consider this fact, we will take our calling seriously, and our walk will be worthy. But if we fail to grasp the significance of what God has called us to, we may fail to realize the importance of a walk that is worthy of our calling.
Many of the Lord’s people are obviously walking worthy of their calling. Consider the missionaries, who have left home and country and family because of their zeal in spreading the Gospel to people who will otherwise never hear. Consider also the full-time workers among us and their faithfulness in preaching the Gospel and in ministering to the spiritual needs of Christians and Assemblies. Consider the faithful elders in our Assemblies, and the work they carry out to shepherd the flock, the teachers who plumb the depths of the Word of God to feed the souls of God’s people, the prayer warriors who spend many hours and shed many tears in intercession for us. And let’s not forget the parents who raise their children in a godly environment and seek to bring them early to the Lord, the folks who make sure that necessary arrangements are made for meetings, including those who arrange the chairs and sweep the floors and shovel the snow. Walking worthy of our calling involves devoting our time, energies, and resources to the Lord.
Walking worthy of our calling also involves being good representatives for our Lord before those around us. If we are living our lives as we should, those around us will have a good impression of what it means to be a Christian. A walk that is worthy is a walk that is marked by honesty and integrity, friendliness and kindness, and faithfulness in presenting the Gospel.
No walk on this earth was ever more worthy than that of the Lord Jesus. As we follow in His footsteps, our walk will be worthy, too. -Jim MacIntosh