When we travel the major highways of our country, I am amazed at the number of storage facilities that continue to pop up. I know that many of these lockers, garages and outbuildings contain household stuff. We have houses full of things, and yet many also need a separate structure to hold those extra items that will not fit in our main abode.
As I read this Ephesians passage, I envision the Gentile, the “non-believer” enveloped in greed, one of the deadly sins. To be clear, greed is not a trait only of the non-believer; we are constantly bombarded by signs and messages, telling us that our lives are incomplete without the latest fad, gizmo, gadget or trend. In this reading, Paul tells us that to live our best life we need to “put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts.”
To truly follow Christ requires us to simplify our lives and to clothe ourselves with the new self, “created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” When I think about this statement, I can’t help but realize how much simpler and better our lives would be if we followed this philosophy more closely.
May we live as God’s ambassadors, seeking to put on a cloak of faith and simplicity. Amen. —