Ephesians 4:2


Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love ~ Ephesians 4:2

To be completely humble in our walk with each other means that we esteem the other better than ourselves. This is opposite to what the non-Christian seeks after, for they seek self-glory. Humility in the Ephesian culture was actually despised, yet here, Paul calls them to forsake their natural way of living and to come into the realm of the unnatural. Meekness, or gentleness as in the NIV translation relates to how we receive injuries. We are to bear them patiently, to not seek revenge or to retaliate. The power of the Gospel is shown when we bear injuries without anger and with a mild and forgiving spirit. There is not one who is perfect, but Jesus, and we are all different in our tastes, our upbringing, our learned experiences, and we take all these different attributes into our lived life. We are all full of faults and infirmities, and we must remember that as we are not perfect, neither is our brother or sister in Christ. In fact, there is no virtue more needed in our contact with each other – that is, to have patience with each other and to bear with one another in love. People have different temperaments, different tastes, different purposes in life; this is the imperfection of human nature. We can find enough in each other to embitter life, to choose to magnify imperfections, to become irritated in trifling issues, and there is no relationship, Christian or familial, that cannot be marred if we allow it. It is the gentle and quiet virtue of patience where the happiness and usefulness of life consists. Patience is a far more favourable attribute than that of great talent and great deeds. Better good is done through a meek nature, and a spirit of forgiveness.

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