Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Thought:  To me, simple, Christ-like qualities are so needed today!

Question:  Is my love for other people shown in my actions?

Scripture:  Ephesians 4:2 (NIV):  "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

This is the mindset of any "prisoner for God."  These four qualities:  humble, gentle, patient and forbearing, immediately imply that there is something pushing AGAINST these behaviors.  There would be no need for gentleness unless one was being irritated and provoked into roughness and force.  There would be no need for humility unless one was given opportunity to be proud and arrogant.  There would be no need for patience unless something was testing and testing and testing your ability to wait and give a situation more time.  There would be no need for forbearance unless one was tempted to quit loving that difficult person, unless opportunity existed to give up and live selfishly.  All of these wrong opportunities do truly exist!  They must be resisted--they must be fought off.  The prisoner for God, who is owned by God and greatly restricted by Him, must display his desire to please God by adopting these anti-selfish, anti-proud, anti-impatient, anti-rough reactions.  "Be completely" humble, etc. Don't occasionally rise to integrity and do a noticeably noble thing; rather be this way through and through, so that every last, tiny behavior is indicative of Christ's whether it's noticed or not.

I am impressed by the fact that Paul calls believers to be this way after praying for them to discover the fullness of God's love, the fullness of God.  We don't enter into the depth of God any other way than to become "completely humble, gentle, patient and forbearing."  Love is found at the end of these behaviors.  God's power is hidden in these behaviors.  These behaviors are an encapsulated Christ at our disposal.  These are the earmarks and hallmarks of true Christianity.  (Notice I say "true."  There are many, many counterfeits out there.)  This is where it's at.  These comprise the basics of the fruit of the Spirit.

Prayer:  How I long, Father, to be more like Your Son Who was humble, gentle, patient and forbearing, even in the end as He hung on the cross!  Bring me closer to this goal, I pray.  Amen. 

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