God has called you to be his child. You have been adopted into the family of God. God has created you with special abilities and will ask you to do things only you can do. 

Maybe you are gifted in flower arranging. God will partner with you as you use your gift for arranging flowers in beautiful arrangements to show and speak his words of love to people who are the beneficiary of the work God has gifted you with.

Perhaps you are a stay at home mom. God will partner with you as you show your children what unconditional love looks and feels like. He will then give you other moms to help encourage and disciple in the ways of godly parenting.

Are you a business woman? God wants to partner with you as you make decisions that will affect you and the people who work for you. He wants to speak with you as you are making deals with other businesses and tell you which deals to accept and which to decline. The list goes on and on. Whatever you do, God wants to partner with you to be a benefit to others. 

Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-4‬ ‭(ESV) says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—” (emphasis added)

You Have Been Called To A High Ranking

 ‭‭We have all been called to do things. Although what you do may look different than what I do, we are commanded to walk in a “manner worthy of the calling” God has given us. In the Passion translation it says to walk “in a way that is suitable to your high rank…” As a child of God you have been given a high ranking. The moment you say yes to Jesus and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you are promoted to this high rank. We are commanded to remember the rank we represent and live a life worthy of this prestigious rank. 

How do we walk in a worthy manner of this high rank? We walk in humility, gentleness, patience, love, and peace. 

Walk In Humility

We are to walk with humility in our high rank as children of God. Humility means: not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive: modesty:—humbleness of mind, humility (of mind). Some synonyms for humility are down-to-earth, lowly, meek, modest, unassuming, unpretentious. We are to have a modest mind when thinking about how to speak and treat others. When God has revealed something to you that has yet to be shown to your fellow brother or sister, it should lead to humility instead of arrogance. God has given a message for you to deliver; it’s a great responsibility. 

Occasionally, God has shown me something before it was revealed to Brett. For instance, about 8 years ago we were living in Dublin, Ireland. We had a choice of where we could go when we moved back to the US. We narrowed it down to three places. One we knew for sure was off the list because God had shown both of us we weren’t supposed to raise our family there.

So we made pro/con lists of the remaining two places. We prayed and asked God where to go. We did a ton of talking about where the best place to raise our kids would be. One thing we did know is wherever we went, we were going to stay there for a long time. We had been moving every year for several years in a row and we needed to plant ourselves somewhere so our kids could have roots. 

I Heard First

About a year into our 18 month stay in Ireland, God showed me we were supposed to move to Texas. I told Brett this, but he wasn’t sure about it. He continued to pray about it. We continued to talk, even though I already knew where we were going. 

At one point we thought we might go to the other choice and applied for a job there. God protected us and didn’t allow Brett to leave Ireland early. Then finally in the last few months of us being in Ireland the Lord showed Brett we were in fact supposed to move to Texas.

 Although the Lord showed me months before he showed Brett where to go, I chose to not be arrogant about it. When he was shown where we were supposed to go, I could have been rude and said things that were arrogant and made Brett feel bad about not hearing or seeing as quickly as I had heard and seen. I chose to remain humble and simply agreed with his decision. This didn’t mean I didn’t want to know what happened to show him where we were supposed to go. I just didn’t throw it in his face that I knew something before he did. We are to remain humble even when we are right, and have been right for a long, long time. 

Walk In Gentleness

We are to walk with gentleness in our high rank as children of God. Gentleness means: mildness, i.e. (by implication), free from harshness, sternness, or violence. Some synonyms for gentleness are: delicate, non-abrasive, soft, soothing, tender. We are to treat others with tenderness. When we provide correction, we are to use words that are non-abrasive, and delicate. 

We must choose our words wisely. This includes disciplining our children. I know from experience that emotions sometimes overwhelm us when we walk in a room only to find out our kid did something crazy. How about those times when we have told our child at least a hundred times to be kind, share, or any number of instructions we give throughout a day?

I know when my kids were small I would sometimes get frustrated with them because I’ve told them the same thing over and over and over. One day God reminded me of Proverbs 22:6 (ESV), “Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” The Lord said, “Notice it says train. That means it’s something you do over and over and over. A marathon runner must train for the race. They can’t just go out one day and decide to run 26 miles. Training takes time and repetition.” 

Afterward, each time I would start to get frustrated, I would remind myself that I am training my kids. This lesson helped me to remember to use tenderness and gentleness when talking to them for the umteenth time about sharing their toys with their brother and sister.

Walk In Patience

We are to walk with patience in our high rank as children of God. Patience means: forbearance, longsuffering, patience, bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint, : manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain, : not hasty or impetuous, : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity

We all have stories about times when we were able to use the muscle of patience. If you ever drive a car, you get to practice patience. I’m sure if we were sitting in my house chatting, we all could spend hours talking about crazy drivers. Just think of crazy drivers as patience trainers.  

Sometimes God puts us in situations where patience is required. When we moved to Texas almost seven years ago, my husband had to quit his job. We moved to Texas knowing God would give Brett another job. What we didn’t know is we were going to get to practice patience, lots of patience. We thought Brett would have a job in just a few months. After all, we came to Texas as an act of faith and obedience. The deal is, just because you do something out of faith and obedience doesn’t mean things will always go smoothly. It took Brett 11 months to get his job. 

It Worked For Our Good

Now, I am thankful for that experience. However, at the time, it wasn’t always fun. God used that year to teach us we do believe what we said we believed. Brett and I said we trusted God to be our provider. We said our money belonged to God, and we would do whatever he wanted us to do with the money he gave us.

Brett and I found out we really could trust God with everything. Yes, there were times when I wanted to hold on to our money because I had plans for that money. At the end of the day, I surrendered that money to God and allowed him to spend it on things I didn’t want to spend it on, like living day to day life. Guess what! God provided more money to do exactly what I had wanted to do with the money we were forced to spend on daily living. It took patience to allow God to provide the job he created for Brett, and it was totally worth it!

Walk In Love

We are to walk with love in our high rank as children of God. Love is defined: an assurance of affection, unselfish, loyal and benevolent, concern for the good of another: such as : the fatherly concern of God for humankind : brotherly concern for others. Some synonyms are devotion, fondness, attachment, and passion. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV) tells us what love looks like. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends… 

So I ask you, are you patient and kind toward those who aren’t patient or kind to you? Are you humble and polite even when others treat you harsh and arrogant? Additionally, do you allow others to do things their way? Do you rejoice with the truth, even when those around you mock the truth? Are you able to stand in the gap and endure through the hard times in relationships, or do you run and hide? Do you love people who have chosen to no longer love you? These actions are impossible in our own strength, but with God all things are possible! Let’s all ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to be loving in all circumstances!

Walk In Peace

We are to walk with peace in our high rank as children of God. Peace means: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. 

The Bible has tons to say about peace. I challenge you to search the word peace on your Bible app. There are many verses in the Bible talking about peace. A few of my favorites are:  

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ (‭ESV)

 “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans‬ ‭8:6‬ ‭(ESV‬‬) 

We will have times when life gets difficult and we are tempted to become anxious and worried. Are you able to remain at peace no matter what is going on around you? This kind of peace only comes from being in close relationship with the Holy Spirit. We can only fight fear with the weapons given to us in the spirit. Thankfully God has given all his children spiritual armor (see Ephesians 6). We have access to peace even in the most unpeaceful circumstances. 

Our Response

As children of God, we have a high calling. We have an important role to play. Just think how the world would change if we all lived a life of constant humility, gentleness, patience, love, and constant peace. I guarantee the unsaved people would take notice and many of them would want what we have. We would live a life that shows the world who Jesus is and what he gives. I know I will be praying for the Holy Spirit to empower me to live that kind of life! Will you do the same?  ‭‭