Ephesians 6:1-9 NRSVue

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²“Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise—³“so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

⁴And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ, ⁶not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul. ⁷Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans, ⁸knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.

⁹And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Lord in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”

Further reflection

Paul saw the roles of his day - parent, child and slave - as models of how the Christian relates to God. I think of those who take different roles around me and pray that I may learn from them how better to be a disciple.

I consider the different roles that I might occupy in the course of the day and ask God to give me the presence of mind to be gracious in each.