Living the life of Jesus, not just imagining it

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil…Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4: 26-27, 29

Paul’s letter, written at the end of a life that had seen a powerful conversion from persecutor to proclaimer of the way of Jesus, gives us sage and holy advice in an uncertain time. Resist, Paul would tell us, the urge to tear down those with whom we disagree. Build up; speak truth in love, and beware of pride (my ancient curse), lest we speak our own truth and not that of Christ. We need a life of congruence in our world, where our understanding of the love of Christ makes its way into our walking life, where we speak and act the way of Jesus in the world. Hard for me, I can tell you but it is the way of Jesus that saves not only us but heals the world, too.