Ephesians Chapter 5 Verse 8

This is interesting! Paul doesn’t say that you and I were once in darkness, and now we are in the light…, he says that you and I were darkness itself and now we are light in the Lord! Being darkness as opposed to being in the darkness is far more intense, right!?

I don’t think this is something I’ve directly considered in my walk with the Lord. This concept, idea, Biblical imperative that as a Christian, I’m not just in the light as it were being in Christ, but an appropriate supposition is that I am supposed to BE light.

I recall Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Let me ask you, Christian, (as I ask also myself), would you readily characterize yourself as “light?” I wonder if I’m doing and being what I’m supposed to be in the Lord and this perhaps helps. If I’m honest, if we’re honest, sure…, AT TIMES, sure… And that in and of itself informs me that I need to change and to grow in the Lord.

Light is interesting and for you photographers or artists here today, you know this…, you know far more than this probably, but light has qualities or characteristics that really matter. Things like intensity, quality, direction, color balance or softness, and even coverage. (I read that on a website called “creativeshrimp.com” so it must be legit, HA!) But I find that interesting!

Each of us who are in the Lord we most certainly have been lit up, enlightened by the accepting of Jesus Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus says we can put that light under a basket and/or we can squelch the shine… I think we were and are so used to being darkness that its almost like a set of habits that need to be broken…

1 John 1:7 reads, “Walk in the light as He is in the light,” and so it appears to me that an appropriate biblical supposition I should place on myself is that in order to do what I’m supposed to do and be who I’m supposed to be, I need to step into and accept the burden/job/privilege and calling (it’s all of those things) to be light. Which means become more like Jesus. John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (Anyone in here not need to change? Ok, then this isn’t for you. Dark is good for sleeping not good for living…)

Light essentially chases away darkness. It removes it. Hey Christian…, is that what you do? What is darkness? Need to know what to chase away, right? Misunderstanding or no understanding. Psalm 82:5, “They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness…” As a Christian, I shouldn’t myself live on cruise-control or surface-level “come what may” strategy. I should be seeking to understand and even embrace the larger scope of the issue and picture of the situation so that I might grow in my own personal wisdom. We talked about that on Wednesday night as being humility. Christian, are you growing in wisdom and leading others/yourself to a deeper and more thorough understanding? Light does that…

What else is darkness? Psalm 82:5 again, the end of that verse. “All the foundations are unstable.” Light chases away instability. Light creates a consistency throughout the environment and in the context of following Jesus, that consistency is a lean towards whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and incites praise (Phil 4). Are you generally a positive person or a negative person? Do you bring, introduce, deliver positivity first in your own heart but also in the lives of others? In the context of following Jesus, light does that.

One more because this can go on and on, Psalm 91:6, “Pestilence walks in darkness.” Are you one to heal or is that at least your heart’s desire? Everyone is broken. Everyone is dealing with things. Everyone carries weight. Are you one to add weight or take it off of others. This is what the light of the Lord does. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle (a characteristic of light) and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” As light, am I a rest-giver?

As a Christian and with the Spirit of God within your heart of hearts, this is there in you, these things. To grow in wisdom and understanding, helping others do the same. Stable in positivity and bringing that environment into existence. A healer of hearts and a reliever of souls. These are just a few things God cries out from within each of His people and yet Jesus says we all have baskets… and if and when we use them, we struggle. Inner turmoil type struggle and that becomes confusing when we give in to a basket weaving life…

So, what can I do? The rest of this verse. Walk as children of light. Simple, learning, not too strong, not too high on self, but hey, I get it now, this is in me, its what my heart wants now and its what God expects and commands of me so here I go… And I’m going to get better at it as I try… And that attitude gets you here…, the next verse….

Ephesians Chapter 5 Verses 9 – 10

First the realization that naturally, on cruise control, just living, just being me, I don’t necessarily know what is acceptable to the Lord! Some folks have a real problem with learning for all sorts of reasons. People and places have let you down in the past and now, to be someone that embraces an attitude of learning makes you feel weak and vulnerable, I get it… But Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

We must learn little by little what is acceptable to God. If we don’t learn it, we won’t have it. And I know that’s tough for some if not most. But God wants to bring forth fruit in your life. The fruit of the Spirit. And it doesn’t just come without environment being set. Put a fruit tree in a vacuum or set a fruit tree on concrete and in both circumstances, although it is most certainly a fruit tree, which I am in Christ, in both circumstances there will be no fruit!

No love, no joy, no peace, no longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control. Or maybe better said for today, self-command. I’m in control! And that is a huge benefit of walking in the light and learning as a way of life! I get control! Not my emotions, urges, frustrations, and not my past! I am in command! That is a fruit of the Spirit! That’s 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind!” (That word in the Greek actually means a disciplined and correctable mind!)

So, check this out. Here’s some elements of walking as light, in the light and environment setting for fruitfulness! Paul gives us three things. Goodness, righteousness and truth. And let me give you one layer down the meanings of these words in the Greek.

Goodness is the word for kindness. Cultivate a gentle and kind spirit. A person that helps others along the way. This life, this journey, wherever they are. There’s place for tough love, for correction, and for rebuke, but the fruit of the Spirit, the deliberate, we need to be kind. “I’m not kind.” Then CHANGE. Your choice.

Righteousness is the word integrity. You say what you’re going to do and do what you say, and you are teachable! The people of God grow as they walk in integrity. That means you are willing even to correct your own thinking if your thinking is out of alignment with God.

And then truth. This is the word for personal excellence. Be an excellent person. Reliable, dependable, consistent, kind, and whatever you set your hand to do, do it well. Do it well or do it twice. It’s the truth!

And those things, making that who we are (totally my decision) I am kind, I am integrity, I am personally excellent, make your life such that you can say those things and believe them yourself, and you will bear fruit, you will be light, and you will walk IN the light! And Christian, this is in the mind of God, non-negotiable. We are supposed to be this… Creating stability in the midst of chaos; Embracing, growing in and sharing wisdom and understanding about all kinds of things; Giving and being a source of example and relief in some way to others but definitely through hope and positivity…

And as life goes on, we get just better and better and better at these things because we are ALWAYS learning. Some circumstances we apply different intensity, qualities, directions, color balances and degrees of softness, even coverage as we decide what to do, address or leave alone through grace and prayer…

Always striving and being filled by the Holy Spirit continually to walk in kindness, integrity and personal excellence… Christian, Matt, this is some of what you are supposed to do to glorify and share Jesus Christ!