Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father. Colossians 1:10-12

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

These two passages use the same combination of Greek words that are translated “live a life worthy”. But then they diverge on what to be worthy “of”.

In Colossians, Paul urges Jesus’ apprentices to live a life worthy “of the Lord.” It’s a life of bearing fruit in every good work. It’s a life of growing in the experiential and relational knowledge of God. It’s a life of being strengthened with all power to have great endurance and patience. And it’s a life of giving joyful thanks to God. Fruit. Knowledge. Strength. Endurance. Patience. Gratitude. It’s a life of loving God.

A worthy life loves God.

In Ephesians, Paul urges Jesus’ apprentices to live a life worthy “of the calling you have received.” What is that calling? To give Jesus complete and undivided allegiance and to learn from him how to be like him so they can routinely and easily replace evil with good. It’s a life that is completely humble and gentle. It’s a life that is patient with one another. It’s a life that bears with one another in love. It’s a life that makes every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit with one another. It’s a life that is bound to one another in peace. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Forgiveness. Love. Unity. Peace. It’s a life of loving others.

A worthy life loves others.

I love it when Paul makes these kind of lists. He uses words like “completely,” “every,” and “all,” indicating how this kind of life isn’t halfhearted or compartmentalized. A life as Jesus’ apprentices in God’s kingdom — learning how to love God and to love others — is a fully immersed life. It’s wholehearted. And it’s whole-minded, whole-bodied, whole-souled, and whole-relationed. Completely. Every. All.

A worthy life is a whole life.