DEVOTION – DAY 414

Ephesians 4:2 “Loving Others”

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

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul taught that God had brought together Jews and Non-Jews into a new relationship with Him and to be a part of the Church. Paul also wanted believers to know that God wanted them to be united and matured within the Church. One of the signs of unity and maturity is when believers show humility, gentleness and patience to each other. In doing so, this would be an expression of brotherly love to one another.

Recently, whilst I was driving, I found myself following behind a slow-moving car. I was about to sound my car horn to show my impatience at the slow driver. I was even planning to overtake the slow car in front of me. But before I could sound my car horn, I noticed a small sign in the corner of that car’s back windscreen. It had a “disabled” sign, meaning that the driver or someone in the car was disabled. That was the reason why the car was driving so slowly. With this new knowledge, my impatience was replaced with understanding and patience. The change in my perception was because I saw the “disabled” sign that alerted me to the condition of that car’s driver or passenger. 

In life, there are many people we may come across who are facing their own personal battles. Unfortunately, they do not display signs to alert us. Some may be facing serious illnesses like cancer, or heart disease. Some could be struggling to make ends meet. Some could be coping with depression or a recent death of a loved one. Some could be suffering from a broken relationship, or a job loss, or a major disappointment. But such people try to put on a brave front to hide their inner turmoil. We can only sense their unease and discomfort or when they become short-tempered or distant. Because we do not know what is going on in everyone’s lives, let us be reminded of Ephesians 4:2 to be humble, gentle, patient and bearing with others in love. When we show compassion, gentleness, kindness and patience to others, we are silently telling them that we may not fully understand what is going on in their lives, but we are willing to walk alongside them and be there for them. This is a way of showing our maturity and unity as Christians.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you, for you are patient, kind and loving. As your children, you want us to have these same qualities. Please help us to be humble, gentle, patient and loving to others always, without any expectation of anything in return. We pray this in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. How easy is it for you to show humility, gentleness, patience and love to others? Share.
  2. What stands in your way to show more humility, gentleness, patience and love to others? 
  3. What changes must you make in order to be more humble, gentle, patient and loving to others?
  4. Why is it important for you to be more humble, gentle, patient and loving to others?