Life in the City

…put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:24

I’m a small-town girl. My hometown’s population hovered around eight thousand. My English teacher played the piano at church, the fire station displayed it’s life-sized nativity scene and the water tower emblem proclaimed “In God We Trust.” My mother taught school in a nearby community of three hundred citizens, and each year’s senior class consisted of ten graduates. Imagine combining my life experiences with a husband’s who grew up in Chicago! After years of marriage, we still share new tales with one another of growing up in our respective communities.

For some reason, I also assumed Ephesus was just another First Century city with dusty roads leading from house to house. Not so! It was a thriving Roman city of 250,000! One resource used the word “emporium” to describe its diverse commerce. Rome considered it one of their top five-star cities! Paul spent time in Ephesus to take advantage of the intense level of people traffic passing through. Ephesus also boasted of housing the elaborate temple for worshiping Artemis, also known as Diana. Because of this popular cultic religion, Paul drew lots of attention for speaking about the one true God. 

This growing community of believers would need to live lifestyles distinct from those around them. As their lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, they would begin to appear different from their neighbors and business partners. Paul included a personal challenge in his letter to them—to become new, to become like the God they worshiped. …put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Righteousness and holiness didn’t always fare well in their competitive business environment. I can imagine the conversations as believers began dealing honestly and fairly with their customers.

I no longer live in that small town, and I watch my adult children challenged to live out their faith in a larger city environment with a business climate where financial gain often challenges Paul’s admonitions for living with righteousness and holiness. I pray for them and for all believers facing the daily admonition to put on the new self, one that displays God’s qualities rather than their own. May His light shine through us just like it shone through Paul and the believers in Ephesus!

Linda L.