Paul - “Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.” (Colossians 1:10)
Nacho Libre is a movie starring Jack Black that is loosely based on the life of "Friar Storm," a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked professional wrestler. “Friar Storm” competed as a wrestler to raise money to fulfill his calling to provide for the orphans.
So let me ask you, what is your life calling? Or what are your life callings? One calling we all have is to become members of God’s family. We do that by receiving Jesus as our Savior. Another calling we have is to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ (Luke (9:23-27, 15:25-33). All of us also have a call from the Lord to support our family members. The Lord has called us to serve Him through serving others in our Church and Community in practical ways (1 Peter 4:10). We’ve also been called by God to live lives that always honor and please the Lord (Colossians 1:10). It’s what Paul calls “living worthy lives” in Ephesians 4:1.
What does it mean to “live a worthy life”? It means to live in such a way that the Lord Himself affirms our life ambitions, attitudes, and actions. It means to live in such a way that the Lord could say, “Look at My servant. He/she is representing Me well on Planet Earth. He/she is living such a dedicated and outstanding life that I totally endorse and approve of how they are living.” That’s what it means to “live a worthy life.” And when we live “worthy lives,” “our lives will produce every kind of good fruit” (Colossians 1:10).
So, “what kind of good fruit do you want to produce”? Do you want others to feel loved by you? Do you want to be a “peace-maker” rather than a “peace-breaker”? Do you want to bring joy to other people’s lives? Do you want to help others to come to know the Lord or become a strong follower of Jesus? Do you want to minister to hurting people around you in our region or around the world? Whatever “good fruit” you want to produce, one big key is “living a life that always honors and pleases the Lord?”
Prayer - Lord, help me to live a life that always honors You, and show me what steps I can take to produce really good fruit in my life.
Reflection - What aspects of my life might not be as pleasing to the Lord as I want them to be? And, what kinds of fruit do I want to produce in and through my life in the days ahead?
