Thought of the day
Notice the order in which Paul opens this chapter. Before he tells you anything about how to live, he tells you who you are: "Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Ephesians 5:1). Dearly loved. Not on probation. Not waiting to see if you'll measure up. Already loved, before a single instruction follows.
That order has been true the whole letter, but it matters especially here, because Ephesians 5 is about to get specific: how you talk, what you do with your time, what you joke about, how you treat your spouse. It would be easy to read all of that as a performance review. Paul doesn't let you start there. He starts with belovedness, and then says, "walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Ephesians 5:2).
Here's the question underneath all of it: does the way you love people look anything like the way Jesus has loved you? That's a harder question than "do I believe in Jesus." You can answer that one quickly. This one takes longer, because it isn't measured by what you know. It's measured by how you treat the people who know you best.
And notice what kind of love Paul points to . . . not a feeling but a sacrifice. Jesus gave himself up. That's the model, not a vague warmth toward people in general, but a willingness to actually give something up for someone specific.
Today, before you get to any of the specifics this week is going to walk through, sit with the foundation first. You are dearly loved. Not because of how well you love others. Because of what Jesus already did. Let that truth go first, and let everything else flow from it.