This year Reinhardt Campus Ministry chose “Live in Love” as the theme of the year, but what does it mean to live in love?

The book of Ephesians summaries the main teachings in Paul’s theology. Although the letter has a general Pauline style and themes, Paul’s authorship of the letter is widely disputed. Scholars suppose the letter to be written by Paul later in life or by Paul’s students who sought to preserve his legacy by writing this letter in honor of him. It does not appear to be written to any particular church; rather, it appears to be directed to the general church.

The letter concerns itself with the reconciling nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Through these acts, God sought to bring all people together, as well as, unity and harmony in the universe. The church, now acting as Christ’s head, is the primary means by which this unity and reconciliation will happen.

In the passage we read for this week (Ephesians 5:1-2), “Paul” is in the midst of teaching Christ’s followers the rules for a new life. Because of belief in Christ, old ways must be abandoned. There are new rules by which to live. These rules include: disbanding anger; living honestly; and putting away bitterness and slander. These things must be replaced by forgiveness and tender heartedness. Rather than break people down, we are supposed to build people up. In this way, we are called to “imitators of God” (5:1). Paul instructs us to live in love, which literally means to “walk in love.”

Living in love is in stark contrast to the way most of us live. Most of us don’t want to live in hate, but we can’t seem to break out of our negative cycles. When someone hurts our feelings, we become bitter because we hurt. When someone receives recognition that we thought we deserved, we hold a grudge. It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others, thus making ourselves vulnerable to getting hurt, but Paul calls us to a more excellent way.

Paul did not know what challenges we would face in the year 2007-2008. He did not know anything about our society or us personally. Nonetheless, his lack of foresight does not diminish the importance of his charge to “live in love.” Today we are still called to be imitators of God. What does this mean for us in our particular situations? This is a question that we have to ask ourselves.

As this school year comes to a close, I charge us all to examine our lives and search our souls. What anger do you need to dispel of? What are we bitter about? Who do we need to forgive? What is getting in the way of our ability to imitate God by living in love?