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a
worthy life
by
john o'keefe
what
makes a life worthy? what makes one persons life
more "worthy" then another? what
is a "worthy life?" doing good?
being good? being nice? saying nice
things? not taking the extra
change because of a cashier error? how about not
cheating on your taxes? not cheating on your
spouse? not beating your kids? does all that make your
life "worthy?" how about going to church
every sunday and attending bible study? will that
make your life worthy? if you dedicate your life
to helping the poor and the sick - worthy then?
well, the way i see it, all of those things may make you a "good
person" but they do not give you a "worthy life."
you see, a worthy life starts with a understanding of a
relationship with God, through christ. most
evangelicals claim it is the starting and ending point -
but a worthy life demands more, much more then just
proclaiming you are a follower of christ - it means you
actually follow christ.
in
ephesians (ehpesians 4:1-3 new living translation) tells
us that a worthy life is one that is humble and gentle,
makes allowances for the faults of others, is found in a
relationship with the holy spirit, and binds everyone
together in peace.
humble
and gentle - a worthy life is one that is humble and
gentle - one willing to sit back and let others take the
credit, one willing to not push (this does not mean you
need to be pushed) others out of the way, one willing to
allow others to speak before they do - how about you?
humble is hard. to be humble is to put yourself
second and allow others to go before you - cutting is
allowed.
makes
allowances for the faults of others - no person is
perfect, and for us to live a worthy life we need to
accept the faults of others and ridicule them for those
faults. I have a friend who is always late.
no matter what we are doing, he runs late - it never
fails. now I have a choice, I can accept him for
who his is or lose a friendship because of his lateness
- I accept his lateness and simply understand that he is
who he is. I make allowances for his faults.
in
relationship with the holy spirit - a worthy life is one
that stands in relationship with God - if not, it has no
worth. this may seem harsh, but it is truth - a
relationship with God gives our life meaning, purpose
and drive. if we are outside that relationship we
miss the meaning of life and the meaning of relationship
with other. while most would see this as
"optional" it is not - it is a must. the
holy spirit is our guide in all we do. if we live
outside of that relationship we travel life blindly and
without direction.
binds
everyone together in peace - too many people today live
in dysfunction - I know of people who are not happy
unless they cause pain and suffering among others.
they strive to keep people apart. we use our
dysfunction as an excuse to interfere in the life of
others. people who divide groups are not living a
worthy life - they are living an "unworthy
life." we should be striving to bring people
together, to unite people in a deep and meaningful
relationship with jesus christ - then we have a worthy
life.
a
worthy life is one where we understanding we do all we do
for God, others and self - we truly seek to get
connected and not just associated. we want to know
each other and love each other. living a worthy
life allows us to find true peace and true wisdom - a
worthy life is not a human life, it is a life that comes
from the spirit and into the world around us - be
gentle, humble, loving, kind, peaceful, and have a
willing heart to know and be known - for in God life is
worthy.
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