live lives worthy of God

December 20, 2011
I can think of five letters written by Paul that all contain some rendition of the idea of living a life worthy of God.  All five are worded slightly differently, and all seem to emphasize, to me, a slightly different aspect of what it means to live a life worthy of God.

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Ephesians 4:1)

Here in this verse, what stuck out to me is the latter portion - 'the calling you have received'.  The calling we have received from God is weighty, is full of honor, is full of glory, and is a responsibility.  When the God of the universe gives you a calling, it is no small matter, and our lives ought to reflect that naturally.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Philippians 1:27)

I like that this version (NIV, 2011) says 'whatever happens'.  So often it becomes easy to live a Christian life when things are good and easy - when our jobs are going smoothly, when our relationships are going well, when people like us, etc.  But what about when our bosses mistreat us? What about when our coworkers treat us badly? What about when our relationships fail? When we lose our jobs? When a loved one dies? Still, we are called to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of God.  Whenever I read this verse, my eyes and mind are drawn to the phrase 'conduct yourselves in a manner worthy'.  It speaks of my responsibility, my duty.  This is what I am to do - to conduct myself in a manner worthy of Christ. This is in my hands and it is what I alone can and should do, no other human can do it for me.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way... (Colossians 1:10)

But how do we know how to live a life worthy of Christ? of God? of the Gospel?  That knowledge, that wisdom, that discernment, and that understanding comes alone from God.  Without knowledge of God's will, without the wisdom and the understanding that the Spirit alone gives, we'd be going about our responsibility to 'live lives worthy of God' by our standards, by our understanding, and by our qualifications and our lives will no longer be lived in the way God has called us to live. We cannot arrive at an understanding of how to live our lives worthy of God on our own.  If we want to know how a gadget works, we go to the instruction manual.  If we want to live lives worthy of God, of our calling, and of the gospel, then we must go to our Creator, to the One who gave us this life, and live it by His standards, His ways, and His wisdom, which is infinitely above ours.  And so we must ask God to fill us with his wisdom and understanding that we may have knowledge of his will for us.

we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling... (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

While the wording in Philippians emphasizes our actions and our responsibility, this verse emphasizes the role that God ultimately plays.  While it is our responsibility to respond, to be receptive, and to have a mind and desire to wholeheartedly live a life worthy of God, it is ultimately God who makes us worthy, who makes our lives worthy of his calling.  We may have the good intention and the steadfast will to live a life worthy of God, but without God, it is impossible for us to do so.  God makes us worthy of our calling, but we are not excused from our responsibility to submit wholly to Him, to be receptive to Him, and to continually seek Him.

...urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:12)

Everything comes back to God.  Our lives are lived for God. Our lives are made worthy by God. Our lives are made worthy through an understanding of God's will by the wisdom the Spirit provides.  Our lives are lived for a God who calls us into his kingdom and his glory.  This then is what we set our minds and eyes on - God's kingdom and God's glory.  It's not about making our lives beautiful or admirable to the rest of the world.  The focus of living a life worthy of God is not on our lives, but on the glory of God.


Paul repeats so many times this concept of living lives worthy of God, emphasizing over and over again the importance it should take in our spiritual lives.  When we reflect on this, is this not the main point of all of Paul's letters? That the churches, the individuals that he wrote to would live lives worthy of God?  Is this not then a general summary of what we should be striving for then? To live lives worthy of God.  So simple a statement and desire, but one that will take a lifetime (if not more) to understand and to accomplish through Christ.