Light

Light

For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But when the light shines on them, it becomes clear how evil these things are. And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Ephesians 5:8-14

Imagine for a moment the contrast between a sunny day at the beach and a day spent crawling around in dark underground caverns. God’s Word teaches us that a Christian’s life ought to be as different from the world as light is from darkness.

Jesus is the source of our light. As he said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” Light imagery is used throughout the New Testament, and in Ephesians 5:8 (NIV), faithful followers of Christ are called “children of light.” God always deals with us in terms of our position. He knows that once we walked in darkness, but now, through our faith in Christ, we have become children of light. Our position in Christ is the basis for our behavior. Whereas darkness produces sin, the light of Christ produces “goodness, righteousness and truth.” Our children know we are not perfect, but when we moms are children of the light, our children will see evidence of goodness, righteousness, and truth in us.

I love the words of a contemporary song included in some of our hymnals:

I want to walk as a child of the light;

I want to follow Jesus.

God set the stars to give light to the world;

The star of my life is Jesus.

In him there is no darkness at all;

The night and the day are both alike.

The Lamb is the light of the city of God:

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.^a

God of light,

Please shine in our hearts as we follow you. Amen.