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. Ephesians 4:1-3
“Constantly pray for others, for there is still hope that they may repent so to attain to God. And so, allow them to learn from you, at least by your deeds. In response to their anger, show meekness; to their boasting, be humble; to their blasphemies offer up prayers; to their wandering in error, be firmly rooted in faith; to their savage behavior, act civilized. Through gentleness we should be their brothers. And we should be see to be eager to imitate the Lord. Who was mistreated more than He? Or defrauded? Or rejected? Do this, so that no weed planted by the devil may be found in you and you may abide in Jesus Christ both in the flesh and in the Spirit, with all holiness and self-control.”
Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50-c. 110) in his Letter to the Ephesians 10:1-3.
Both the Apostle Paul, writing the Ephesians around the year A.D 60, and Ignatius, writing them about 48 years later around the year A.D. 108, call the Ephesians to live humble and gentle lives.
I find it interesting that they were both prisoners. Paul is a “prisoner for the Lord.” Ignatius was arrested in A.D. 107 and visited churches across Asia Minor en route to his martyrdom in Rome around A.D. 110.
And both called us to be humble and gentle and to set worthy examples through our deeds. Whenever you see “deeds” appear in Greek it reflects our countercultural and Christlike generous giving, living, serving, and loving.
But I think what stood out to me most was the language of living a life “worthy” of the calling we have received and seeing to it that “no weed” planted by the devil may be found it us.
And both Paul and Ignatius want us keeping the unity of the Spirit and abiding in Jesus Christ and in the Spirit. So, on this Lord’s day, to live lives worthy of our calling with good deeds and no weeds.
Such lives, in the Spirit, will exhibit holiness and self-control, unity and peace, and teach others how to live worthy lives with no weeds as they look at our deeds.
Easier said than done, so help us do this, Holy Spirit!