Imitate God. Walk in love. Jesus said if you love me, you will love others. It's a posture of the heart. Get to know Jesus intimately and you will live and love differently.
Be careful of idolatry; putting anything before God in your heart. Funny thing is, we try so hard to avoid sin by implementing a bunch of rules and boundaries. Instead, what we need is a worship change; a pivot of the eyes from self to God. As we follow Him, our lenses change.
See my last post, The Power to Walk in Love, on Ephesians 5:1-7
Follow God's example as dearly loved children, Paul said, and walk in love just as Christ loves you (5:1-2).
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
Ephesians 5:8-12 NIV
Apart from Christ we are darkness (not in darkness, but actually darkness), deceived, dead in our sin. But now that you're in Christ, you are light. Why would you ever choose to sit in the dark? Paul said, you are children of light, so live as light, and find out what pleases the Lord.
When God gave me a new heart, my view of just about everything began to change. That doesn't mean that I don't still struggle with the darkness of my old self; Christians still struggle, wrestle and even sometimes fall, but we don't remain in the dark because Jesus has changed us.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:13-14 NIV
I surrendered to Jesus late in life so it's easy for me to remember the dark. I was asleep; I wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Most of the time I was indifferent to Him, but when someone approached me with God's truth, it actually made me angry.
Why?
Because light exposes darkness and the darkness tries desperately to overcome it. God's truth makes no sense to the person without Christ.
It seems unreasonable, combative, even foolish. (see 1 Cor 2:14)
To me, there was no absolute truth, everything was subjective. Without morality, my focus was on whatever made me happy or feel full in the moment. Unfortunately that changed on a regular basis. I know what it's like to have everything and feel empty—to chase the next shiny new thing only to find that it's not enough—it's like chasing a high that's never satisfied; that is until Jesus opened my eyes. He is where I found fullness, contentment and value.
God said, "In him [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:4-5 CSB
Jesus doesn't just show us light, or reveal it, He makes us light. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NLT). The light of the world says, "You are the light of the world" (Matt 5:14 NLT). Simply amazing.
So if we, His church, collectively are light, then why in the world is the world in such darkness. We've compromised; instead of exposing darkness, we've joined it by ignoring it. We've kept quiet in the face of evil, and called that love. We left moral law to governments, so morality dissipated.
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV
Be careful. Jesus said, "many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:11-13 NIV
We must wake up church: put our eyes on Jesus; pay attention; be wise; stop wasting time; seize every opportunity for God's glory; and begin to (truly) disciple others.
By the way, if the Lord remains patient in coming, changed hearts is the only way out of the mess this world is in.
And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:17-20 CSB
Other than the reckless decision and consequences of getting drunk, let me start with the obvious rub here—many miss the point of what Paul is saying because they spend too much time debating whether or not a Christian should drink alcohol. We don't live under restriction, make your choice, but it's probably safe to say that if alcohol is your struggle, it would be a good idea to avoid it. But I digress, this is clearly not Paul's point.
I think we need to figure out what we move toward to fill a void, be it good or bad; it could be exercise or it could be alcohol. This is one of those wrestles with the old self I spoke about earlier. Having said that, when I was young, having a couple of drinks was a way to loosen up, especially around a lot of people. I didn't feel like I fit in, so when I had a few drinks, I felt a pseudo sense of relaxation and peace; until that one too many of course. I guess you could say I looked to alcohol to rescue me. Gosh I don't miss those days.
Remember, Paul is speaking to believers in Christ; and what I believe he's saying is before you look to destructive ways to fill your emptiness, let God fill you with His Spirit. He knows exactly what you need. He is where true fulfillment comes from. Fullness breeds contentment and contentment always seems to make you want to hum a tune, or better yet, sing in thankfulness to the One who loves you.
Many of us have fallen asleep. Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be filled with His spirit; sing and give thanks to the Lord. His will is that you are no longer darkness; but light that leads to life.
Comments