Be the Light

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” (Ephesians 5:8)

Hello, my friend…

Once again, we visit this verse. Today, more than ever, we need to be reminded of the Light we carry, the Light we are in such a dark and perverse world. I recently wrote about how we are shining lights in the world, but we need to hear it again and again. The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing. Not just once, but hearing and hearing and hearing. Repetition is key. Just like when we were in school, we have to hear something at least seven times for it to begin registering. That’s why meditating on the Word of God and speaking it out of our own lips in our own voice is so important.

I want to remind us both (you and myself) of the action verbs in this verse. Paul didn’t write that we acted sometimes in the darkness, he didn’t say we once carried out dark deeds. He said we were darkness. We were made out of and filled with darkness. In another place, Paul wrote that we were corpses – animated by the dark spiritual forces of this world. When we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, He raised us from the dead and filled us with His Holy Spirit. It is that Spirit that now moves us. In Him we live, and move, and have our being.

There are jokes about people who brighten up a room by leaving it. Spiritually speaking, that was once us. We carried about the dark clouds of fear, doubt, envy, anger, and all the rest. When we approached, it was as if the light around us was being sucked out by our very presence. Now, as children of God, (hopefully) the opposite is true. When we approach, people should feel a refreshing in the atmosphere, they should feel joy, peace, hope, and the other gifts of the Spirit emanating out of us. We should bring life to any situation – even the bad ones. We should minister the love of God to those around us. If we don’t, I question the validity (or at most, the depth) of our salvation.

We are to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling (so the scriptures tell us). We are to live in such a way that others can see Jesus in us. As we yield more and more of our lives to Him, He inhabits us that much more. As we put to death the works of the flesh, the Holy Spirit is able to take over that part of our lives. As we put into practice those things we learn in scripture, our faith explodes and the power of God increases in everything we do. In this manner, the scripture is fulfilled that we go from glory to glory. No longer needing the milk of God’s Word (simple truths reserved for newborns in the faith), we learn to digest and use the strong meat of God’s Word so necessary to give us strength for the journey.

My friend, the world needs to see Jesus through you – through your testimony, through your deeds, through your words, through your love. Your gifts and talents reveal a different aspect of God that mine may not. Your actions show Him to those I will never know or reach. You can verbalize His Word in ways I cannot. You are unique, you are specially-gifted, and you are valuable to the Kingdom of God. Nobody else can serve in your place. Oh, the work would still get done, but it is God’s perfect pleasure and will to use you. Let Him. That is my prayer for you today.

Be blessed.