Ephesians 5:1-2 says this:
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Say no more. Or at least, say very little. It’s a poetic, yet poignant, instruction: walk in the way of love. And it’s punctuated with a degree of intensity: just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
So how do we do this? Every day we are confronted with dozens of decision points. At each point we choose which way we will walk: either the “way of sacrificial love” (loving as Christ loved us) or the way of selfishness, which is the logical opposite of the way of sacrificial love.
If you meditate on this instruction long enough, you will be led to places in your life where you need to walk in the way of love. I’ve noted my personal list below. But know that this list is unique to each one of us, because what is sacrificial for one may not be sacrificial for the other. Maybe my list can inspire you to create your own. So, these are my decision points for choosing to walk in the way of love.
Humbly,
Barry
- Personal Awareness:
You know that pulsating blue dot that shows your location in your smart phone GPS app? I’m adopting that as my orb for walking “in the way of love.” It represents the people I am in potential contact with at any given moment; these are the opportunities to show the way of love. And to borrow an instruction from the airplane safety talk, remember that your best opportunities may be behind you. We can avoid our default setting of the way of selfishness by staying proactively aware of opportunities to show the way of love to those in our blue dot orb. In fact, one of the definitions of the Greek word used for “walk” in Ephesians 5 is “make due use of opportunities.” There you have it.
- Personal Nutrition/Fitness:
Not to make the lure of the Cinnabon a spiritual issue, but our food indulgences are an easy place to build muscle for walking in love. The healthier our bodies (and minds), the better position we are in to walk in the way of love on behalf of the people around us.
- Leisure Time:
There is a fine line between putting on your own oxygen mask and putting the oxygen mask on those around you. We can certainly rationalize extra leisure time with thoughts like, “If I don’t get this bike ride in I’ll be a grump to everybody else.” But we know when we’re abusing that fine line, or more accurately, we know when we’re lying to ourselves and those around us.
- Family:
For those who have a spouse and/or children, the amount of daily decisions for choosing to walk in sacrificial love seems to be exponentially greater. And this is a good thing. Our family is our tripwire for walking in the way of love. If we’re not exhibiting sacrificial love to those under our own roof, then the sacrificial love we try to show to others is an empty shell.
- Ministry Time:
All of us in ministry have activities and duties that are in our wheelhouse. We love doing them. It’s why we got into ministry. And then there are the other things, duties we do out of assignment or necessity which might even consume as much time as our wheelhouse duties. These are the duties that present us with a decision as to whether we will walk in sacrificial love or in selfishness.
- Frustration:
This might be more of a gauge that we are walking in the way of love rather than a commitment to walk in the way of love. And it’s a great gauge. Walking in love is all about how we react to the mundane frustrations of life: gas pump fails to print a receipt, three bags of groceries are in the arm that’s on the same side as the pocket with keys, no one is driving as fast as you need them to. Do we react in the way of love? Even if no one is around the gas pump, or at the door, or in our car, actually especially, if no one is around, at, or in, our reactions are an indicator as to how much the way of love is in our hearts.
- Take an Actual Walk:
This is more of a “to do” rather than a decision point. But it reflects a commitment to walking in the way of love. Take a walk and simply ask yourself, “How can I walk in the way of love as Christ loved me?” You’ll want a method for recording your thoughts because they will come fast and furious.
- Serve out of Giftedness:
One of the greatest acts of love is to identify and serve out of our spiritual giftedness. Why? People around you will be encouraged and transformed. It’s how any community of faith becomes a healthy body of believers.
- Tapped Out:
And then there are those times when you are emotionally, physically and spiritually tapped out. You feel you have no energy to walk, let alone walk “in the way of love.” It’s in these times that we might be well-served to call to mind Jesus’ literal walk of love, His agonizing steps to Golgotha, carrying the very cross that would be used to crucify Him. That’s the true picture of loving “just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- Start with Baby Steps:
I’m wondering if it means anything that, over the few days I’ve been reflecting on the subject of walking in the “way of love,” my 15-month old son has taken his first steps. While it may indicate divine affirmation that this is a needed message, at the very least I’m accepting it as a well-timed analogy. Create your own list of ways you can walk in the way of love as Christ loved us. Then choose one. Obsess on it for a few days. Use this single item as your first step into a lifelong journey of walking in the way of love.