Today's Passage - Ephesians 4:1-3

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 4:1-3   "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."   There must be a direct relationship between our inner life and living.  Many people stress the importance of inner life, but what is it anyways?  Actually, life is same as living.  Apart from living, it's hard to understand what life means.  In Ephesians chapters 1 to 3, Paul talked about the life in Christ, and then he started talking about Christian living.  Paul heavily stressed change in living; one who has real inner life should also have changed living.  If a person talks about life all the time but still criticize and attack others or complain all the time, this person must have issues with his inner life.  Therefore, when I hear people pursuing inner life, I first look at how they live, otherwise pursuing inner life is just a way to avoid facing the reality of living, and it won't benefit anyone else.  Too many people talk about inner life all the time, thinking that they are more spiritual, but we can't see good testimony for the Lord in how they talk and live, which is quite regrettable.  We need to make sure our living matches our inner life in the Lord.  Paul has mentioned a few ways to testify for the Lord in how we live: Be humble, which means to see other better than ourselves.  A person who's proud, the opposite of humble, often see themselves better than others, and it's hard for them to collaborate with others. Be gentle.  In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said that "blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."  People who are gentle can be shaped more easily, and that's why they can inherit all the spiritual properties. Be patient.  Patience is an important virtue; many people have zeal and knowledge when they pursue spirituality, but they lack patience.  They easily develop low self-esteem and give up on themselves.  One of the greatest shortfalls for believers is that we cannot persist till the end.  May the Lord grant us patience from God, so that we can persist in our run on the path to spirituality. Bear with one another in love.  Bearing with one another is a necessary lubricant between human relationships.  The Lord was tolerant and accepting towards us and He always forgives us, constantly giving us second chances, so how can we not tolerate and accept each other? Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  Unity needs to be kept through effort, and another word for "keep" is "maintain."  Unity in the heart is not formed naturally, for it needs to be won by paying a price.  By natural it's easy for us to split the body of Christ into pieces.  Brothers and sisters, what is the condition of your life?  Does your inner life match your daily living?                                                                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may your Holy Spirit examine us to see whether our inner life and our daily life are matching.  Please support us wherever we are weak, and cleanse us wherever we have sinned again you.  Let us regain strength to move onward on the path of our spiritual pursuit, so that we can be more like the Lord.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!