EphesiansSample

This part of the text is in the middle of a central point Paul is making in Ephesians: God’s plan of salvation is not just for the Jews, but also the Gentiles. What a privilege for us! Paul was a devout Jew, but when this mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles was made known to him, he shifted the primary focus of his ministry to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. In addition, in this brief part of scripture, Paul also reveals to us his devotion to this calling. This devotion was so deep for him that it landed him in prison (see Acts 21). He also calls this calling a “special responsibility,” which can also be interpreted as “stewardship.” In short, Paul devoted his life to spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles, and he did so with so much depth of passion, care, and responsibility, even to the point of prison.

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t have that type of defined passion for what God has called me to. It is easy for me to view calling through a lens of personal convenience or benefit, or to even feel so much confusion around God’s personal calling for my life. There are so many questions around this topic that take the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance, especially when it comes to God’s specific will for our lives. Although there can be much we don’t know, we CAN shape our lives around the reliable words of Jesus and be confident that he has called us to this: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31). Even if we don’t have great clarity or a super-defined calling like Paul, we can shape our lives today to love God and to love people more deeply. And those things DO make a significant difference, both in our lives and the lives of others! These are simple, but highly worthwhile things that we can devote our lives to.

Prayer Points

• Ask God to reveal to you an area of your life where you can love and devote yourself to him more deeply.
• Ask God to show you one person in your life that you can tangibly love today.
• Ask God to begin to speak to you about a defined calling for your life and how to devote yourself to it.