Ephesians 5:6-17
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says,
“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.”
15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
I know this is a bigger chunk of scripture than what I normally talk about, however I feel it needs to be all presented as one, since it is a complete thought. Interestingly enough, our pastor talked about this yesterday a bit. As believers, we are no longer “of this world” and as followers, we are to make sure we no longer cling to “this world.”
Peter reflects this same message, 1 Peter 5:8 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We must be wary of our surroundings and the things we are told. I’ve said before that the best way to guard ourselves from the lies is by knowing the Truth. We will know the Truth and be able to stand on it and grow our faith by studying it, The Bible. Period. There is no other way. It is part of the equation and without it, we are left in the dust.
This may be difficult, especially for newer believers. We still feel attached to our old ways, even though we feel with God. This is why we must cling to what is good. As our light shines brighter as a result of the increasing of our faith, we will begin to expose the lies around us for what they are AND we will be able to do it with love and grace, just as Christ did for us. This is all a result of learning what is pleasing to the Lord (verse 10). How do we do this? Read about it in His Word.
I appreciate verse 11 because it points out that we are not just to ignore or “stay away” from these things, but to bring them to light. If we see things displeasing to God happening, we are to call them out, so they can be rectified. As we all continue on our respective journeys in Christ, we are still not perfect and we won’t be until the day He returns. Because of this, it is our duty to help our fellow family members by keeping them straight when they go astray. Too often, I think, as Christians we tend to “look the other way” because we don’t want to be confrontational, we want to be “loving” but we forget that it is not loving to sit and watch someone go astray. It’s actually unloving. Certainly, I’m not saying we should try to “fix” someone, but we should help each other out of love.
I love verses 15-17. Paul’s bluntness, I believe, is what makes me enjoy his writings so much. In verse 17, I think his “so then” can translate into “in other words.” I say this because if we dissect the previous two verses, we realize it is the same thing. Be careful how you walk: What does that mean? How do I know how to walk and how not to walk? Make the most of your time: for what? What should I make the most of my time with, in what capacity? By understanding what the will of the Lord is. How exactly do we do that? Read. The. Bible. In doing so, we increase our faith, we learn His Will, and we can know His promises, His power, and can cling to what is good.
How can you make your walk brighter today?
