Nougat 10

There is a temptation to assume that church back in the day was perfect; and everyone was happy with each other all the time. But that was not always the case. Actually, it seemed like Paul and other church leaders spent quite a bit of time preventing a total split in some churches. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Ephesians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We know from the intro that the Ephesian church was struggling with issues. One major problem surrounded how they interacted with each other – for Ephesus was first a Greek centre of trade then as the power shifted; it became Roman. All sorts of cultures met and clashed there; and some of those attitudes spilled over into the church.

According to one commentary; one Greek attitude that spilled over was arrogance. (Many of us might translate this as prejudice). In fact, according to Les Painter, being proud (arrogant) was considered a good thing because it encouraged someone to see what made them unique. The problem was; it encouraged those persons to think of themselves more highly than others. That is where the difficulty laid. It not only encouraged boastfulness; but also allowed disdain for others and sometimes manifested in abusive behavior towards an individual or a particular set of persons.

Paul argues that for Christians, humility was seeing ourselves as all being made in God’s likeness (imago Dei); thus making us all equal. And in relation to the Gospel message in John 3:16; Jesus did not discriminate in dying for humanity. The call therefore to be humble is part and parcel of our calling mentioned in verse 1 yesterday.

Technologically; much has changed since Paul (or his disciple) wrote to the church in Ephesus. Yet, many of us are still set back by discrimination: racial; ethnic; social; physical (prejudices against persons with disabilities); national and evening across gender lines. In some cases, our prejudices spill over into our treatment of others. During the first intense waves of Covid-19; this manifested in abuses all over the world. If we see each other as Christ sees us, we not only find ourselves practicing humility; but also compassion.

Humility allows us to see ourselves and others as Christ sees us and invites us to desire God’s best for all. Are we truly practicing humility?

Lord teach us how to value others as You do, desiring the best for them (even at their/our worst. We need Your Spirit dwelling deeper within and bearing fruit constantly so that humility comes naturally to us always. Hear the prayers of our hearts as we yield our prejudices and arrogance for Your sake we pray, in Jesus Christ amen

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May all we seek be found in Christ