Morgan Davis

Ephesians 4:17-24 (NIV)
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self,created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Reflection:
If you are reading this from Houston, there is a good chance that you or someone you know receives regular allergy shots to help a body stand a chance at making it through pollen season unscathed.  Allergy shots are designed to spur the body’s immune system to withstand allergens by injecting a tiny amount of the offending substance into the body, thereby reducing the body’s sensitivity to that allergen.  I get allergy injections every two weeks religiously (see what I did there?), and at my most recent appointment I realized how very like the Gentiles these shots are.  They were hardening themselves to God’s word by rejecting it. They were further desensitized each time they went against God’s teachings. They injected their hearts and minds with impurities and came to live without being impacted by God. In verses 17-19, Paul highlights and warns against this practice.

“When we know better, we do better” is a phrase I heard long ago. After Paul criticizes the Gentiles’ behavior, he goes on to say that we know better than they do; we have been taught about Christ. With that knowledge comes the expectation that we will live according to the word of the Lord, an intention that we will be responsible for our behavior. How many times have your expectations of your own children been greater than those of others because you know they have been taught well at home? Paul has an expectation of us that is greater than that of the Gentiles; we have heard the message and they have not. We know that Jesus died on the cross for us and we have been gifted eternal salvation!

Now, is it easy? Is it natural to always put off the old self and remember to act with true righteousness? Not for me, and I suspect not for many others. The good news is that our God is forgiving, and we can always try, try again. The thing we must not do is slip into the habit of the Gentiles, and double down on our errors. Rather than creating an immunity within our hearts and minds to the life that God has promised us, we are invited to live as those whose hearts have been injected by the gracious love of God—a love that has given us the ability to always do better.

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for giving me the opportunity to open my heart to you again and again.  Help guide me to the decisions that support your truth and reject that which darkens and hardens me to your word.  Let me be thankful for, and take full advantage of, the opportunity to change my ways and do better knowing that I am being given grace to improve. Amen.