How many of you have seen the movie Chariots of Fire?
It’s about Eric Liddell, who ran in the Olympics for his country Scotland in 1924.
Here’s what Eric Liddell said in the movie:
Even though I’ve never seen it, I love that line from the movie!
When I run, I feel His pleasure.
While the real Eric Liddell didn’t say that, he did really believe that by running, he could honor God. In other words, he knew his calling.
Do you know your calling?
Ephesians 4:1 says:
Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received
When an athlete competes in the Olympics, he or she isn’t just representing themselves, but their country. Out of all the people who train to go to the Olympics, only a few from each country get to compete. They have a great honor and calling! As Christians, we have the great honor and calling to represent God to our world.
As we look at our verse this morning, we first need to ask: what’s the “therefore” there for? Ephesians 3:20-21 says:
Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Paul directed us to reflect on who God is, what He’s done for us, and what He will do in the future. We are recipients of God’s mercy! Ephesians 2:4-5 says:
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
We’ve been brought from death to life! As we reflect on all that, we’re urged to live in light of that reality.
So first, Paul reminds the Ephesians again that he considered himself to be the prisoner of the Lord. (v 4:1a) As we saw before, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesian church when he was in prison for his ministry. And there’s still a lot of persecution in the world.
Remember, Paul was like a spiritual father to the Ephesian church. They were to imitate Paul as Paul imitated Christ. Though we are free, we are to willingly subject ourselves to Jesus. As a prisoner of the Lord, Paul sought to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
So second, Paul urges us to do the same. ( v. 4:1b) Paul calls it a “walk” because that’s what life is. I looked up some statistics about walking, and this is what I found.
Life is getting up every day and choosing to live a certain way. And the way that Paul urges us to live is “worthy.” Paul isn’t saying that we can lose our salvation, but that we should want to live consistent with our salvation. In Acts, we began to be called “Christians.” Acts 11:26 says:
The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
It means “little Christs.” We’re not worthy of that! And yet, we ought to make it our aim to live as worthy of that title.
Third, Paul reminds us why we should desire to live this way. (v. 4:1c) As people saved by grace through faith in Jesus, we have a calling. The word “calling” refers to an invitation, like to a banquet.
We’re not saved primarily to sit in pews and listen to sermons. We have a calling. We’re invited to go and be the light of the world. We’re invited to make disciples of all nations. We’re no longer to live as dead in our sins, but alive in Christ.
In slight contrast to the quote from the movie, Eric Liddel made another statement about his calling. He said:
God made me for China.
You see, in addition to running, Eric Liddell actually became a missionary in China, like his parents. At the end of the movie, there’s a one line epilogue that hints at Eric’s future. It said:
Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.
He actually spent 20 years as a missionary there, and died in a POW camp.
He felt called not just to run, but to walk in a manner worthy of his calling.
God has called us, like Eric Liddell and like Paul of Tarsus, to go and share Jesus with all people of all nations.