Walk In The Light
As a plant mom, I jump to the rescue when my plants are not getting enough light 😮
When I got home Sunday afternoon my husband pointed out, “pookie (that’s our pet name for each other 😌) the plants aren’t getting any light.”
I usually lift the shades first thing in the morning, but I had forgotten. The way I rushed to get those shades open was most likely comical! As if in 5 seconds I’d undo the damage that had been done with hours of no light.
This natural reaction I had to seeing my plants without light is probably not to be compared to the way The Lord sees His world He created, without light. But maybe I got just a taste of the feeling.
There is a responsibility on the people who call themselves Christians. Which, by the way, means “Followers of Christ.” Those who model their lives after the way that Christ lives.
The responsibility is to “walk as children of light.”
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),”
Ephesians 5:8-9 NKJV
There is no mistaking in the Bible that if Jesus if your Lord, and His Spirit dwells in you, now YOU are the light of Christ! That is actually a part of your identity! Sow it in to your heart. Write it on a plaque! That is who you are.
So why the separate mandate to walk as children of light if we already are children of light. Could it be, that who Christians are supposed to be and the way they “walk” are often in contradiction?
Christians scream at young mothers in front of planned parenthood, but Jesus asks if he can come over for dinner.
There’s a disagreement here. One side looks like accusation, chaos, anger, and hate. The other side looks like…
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Remember that it is by God’s loving-kindness that people are drawn in. Sanctification (cleansing, being made holy) happens after salvation. Salvation is free, and requires nothing from the person being saved except for to receive Jesus’ free gift.
And by the way, the Holy Spirit doesn’t miss. He’s bringing you love and gentleness. Not one or the other. You don’t get to pick and choose.
I want to continue on, but I will end with this. Let these qualities be your guide. When your life looks like these fruits, that’s a great sign that you are on the right path.
When it starts looking like something else, no matter how “right” you think you are, please consider that your rightness is not the same as God’s righteousness. He’s shown us what walking in the light looks like. And the Holy Spirit wants us to yield to Him, so He can guide and show us what is right. So now, let’s go, follow Jesus, yield to the Spirit, and walk it out.