Valuation

"Worthy" is a term of valuation. It is a reference to having the qualities or abilities that merit specific recognition. It is a comparison of a standard to someone or something. We are used to applying standards and making determinations. We do it all the time. "This ship is seaworthy." "The car is not roadworthy." "He is worthy of the award." "God is worthy of praise." We are doing this all the time (with or without the word, "worthy".)

I noticed the other day that Paul uses this term repeatedly.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. (Eph 4:1)

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." (Phil 1:27)

We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Col 1:10)

We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess 2:12)

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering … To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power. (2 Thess 1:5-11)

And that was just a sampling. (It was, of course, the sampling I wanted on the topic I'm approaching.) Paul repeatedly tells us to be worthy in the way we live. Be worthy of the calling, worthy of the gospel, worthy of the Lord, worthy of the kingdom. We have a standard to meet, and we are told to compare ourselves to this standard and be sure we measure up.

If you are paying attention, you have to admit this can be a pretty stringent standard. Worthy of God? Worthy of the kingdom? I'm sorry ... I'm not. I don't stand up to this standard. That's why I particularly like the verse where Paul prays for the Thessalonians that "Our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power." (2 Thess 1:11)

We have a standard to meet. It is a high standard. No attempt to minimize it will produce the results the standard demands. Nor does "I can't make it" make a difference. It's not a suggestion; it's a command. Thanks be to God that He will fulfill in us the worthiness we are supposed to supply.