Ephesians 4:28

During my morning Bible reading/studying this morning, I came across some scripture that really struck a chord with me. Ephesians 4:28 reads like this, "Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. (Amplified)" When I first read the verse, I'm sure I thought of it just the way you are thinking of it right now. I began to literally think of thieves, those individuals who literally steal material things from you. It wasn't until after much meditation on the verse that I began to think of it in a more spiritual way. Naturally, I began to reflect on myself first. Personally, I believe that stealing can be denying God of his praise, worship, and fellowship from you. When you don't praise, worship, fellowship, or study God's word, you can be of no service to God's people. So, we should be more industrious both spiritually and physically. We need to be good employees at our jobs, so we can make money to support our families and ourselves, but also God's kingdom, too. We should be wise about our finances, so that we can give back to God and help those in need. Once we have built ourselves up, we can then minister to others in need. In turn these individuals can become good employees and followers of Christ. They too can then help others in need. If we all followed this perfect model from Christ's own word, we could possibly help to eliminate poverty in America and other areas of the world. This small little verse says so much to me about God's love for us all. Through true faith and works we could literally change the entire world. God's grace and love is good enough for me. Think about it: whose path shall you light today?