1 Kgs 19:4-8 Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Eph 4:30-5:2 John 6:41-51

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

“Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.” -2 Ephesians 4:30-5:2

I am struck by how beautiful this passage is, as well as by how challenging it is to apply on a daily basis. For me, this brings two thoughts to mind. First, I have the opportunity to model my life after the only sinless person to have walked this earth…Jesus. What an incredible calling and honor to “live in love, as Christ loved us.” And again, what an incredible challenge this presents. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t fail to live up to this standard in some way…perhaps it is a moment of bitterness, or anger, or a failure to respond compassionately to another’s circumstances. There are times that this can be a huge source of disappointment, frustration and self-beratement for me….until I remember something integral and key to these “life instructions” that are presented in Ephesians.

This brings me to the second thought that comes to mind when reading this passage: I am incapable of achieving this high standard of moral living on my own….my sinful, human nature defies it and no amount of trying on my part will ever overcome this fact. However, the most beautiful part about this is that God realized this and sent Jesus as a “sacrificial offering…for a fragrant aroma.” In essence, the simple fact that Jesus was sinless, and was sacrificed for our sins, negates the fact that I am incapable of living up to the standards that are set forth by God. Jesus’ death has preemptively covered my inadequacies and failures, which allows me to strive for a life that glorifies him, but also allows me to not berate myself each time I come short…for he has already covered for me.

 My prayer is that we will allow this truth to be realized in our lives…that instead of spending time berating ourselves for our inadequacies, we will respond in faith to Jesus and find peace in the knowledge that our sins have been covered through his death on the cross.