If you are following the day and dates, you may have noticed that there was nothing new yesterday. Today is makeup day!
Wasn't bad enough that the day started of busier than usual, but a glance at chapters five and six showed me that this was not going to be easy. Maybe it would have been better to have chosen a different book. After all, who wants to hear anything else about husbands and wives.
Wait! There is so much more in these two chapters. What has been impressed on me is "don't get bogged down in what you don't understand. Act on what you do understand."
There are several key points that Paul makes:
- Clean, honest living (5:3)
- Don't be tricked by what you read or hear (5:6)
- Take time to understand what the Lord's will is (5:17)
And that was just in chapter 5! Okay, so I skipped over that [more]"submit" stuff, and for good reason. That is a post in itself, and besides it's a real stopper if you do or don't believe what it says. Did you notice that I covered both sides. Some things are like that. They fall into the category of gasoline on a campfire, even if you do want a bigger fire.
The last part of today's two had some good information about labor/management relations. Certainly worth reading and applying. Just don't forget, Paul was writing to believers, or followers of Christ. He was not talking to the whole world – this was not a front page story in the "Ephesus Times". Remember, this letter started out with "To the saints in Ephesus, the faityful in Christ Jesus." So…be careful how you spread these instructions around.
Paul ends thie letter with some ways to prepare yourself as a Christ Follower in how to live. His words again, are filled with images that readers of this letter would immediately grasp.
My translation of verses 10 through 18 would be something like this: Remember that your strength comes from the Lord, so get some. Protect yourself from the devil by covering yourself with God's body armor. Build yourselves up with His exercises so that you are strong. Don't forget, that everything you need to know is in the word of the Lord, so learn it – remember it – do it!. Talk to Him all the time – let Him know what you need. Don't forget to ask Him to help our brothers and sisters.
I do like the way Paul ends. As he asks them to pray for him, it was not so that he would be treated better, or get better food, or be famous. All he asked was that he might not be afraid to clear up any misunderstandings about the Good News.
His word was "fearlessly". Now, the question is "what do I fear?"
Deeper than that is whether or not I remember how to overcome that fear? If I cannot remember, it's "repeat the chapter" time.