Carry well

I was reading in Ephesians this morning and several verses caused me some reflection:

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do... They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God... due to the hardening of their hearts... they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way... You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." --Ephesians 4:17 - 24

The verse is actually pretty straightforward, but it reminded me of a sermon on the Ten Commandments, given by Pastor Curtis from newHope. Now, we're all familiar with many of the Commandments, "Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery..." but the one Curtis really lingered on was Exodus 20:7

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

He expanded on the translation from ancient Hebrew and explained how this was more than "Not saying G** D***." When the Israelites were chosen by God to be His people, they carried His presence with them and He dwelt in the tabernacle they built. His essence was with them, or in other words, His name was upon them.

A finer study of Ex 20:7 reveals a more direct translation to be "Carry well the name of the Lord." Our lives, our actions, our very existence is intended to honor Him, and living in a way that glorifies Him is included in some of the earliest of recorded history.

And this ties in to Ephesians 4. We are told not to live like the Gentiles or hethans, who have given themselves over to impurity and idolatry, but to live in the new-self one becomes by having faith in Jesus. Changing actions and habits in an effort to grow in holiness and righteousness, seeking to become ever more like Him.