Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
We are the Light of the World (Ephesians 5:8-10)
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Amazingly, he also said to the disciples, “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16). In these contexts, it would seem that “light” consists of eternal life and good deeds done in the world. That is at least part of what pleases the Lord.
What Paul is saying here is even more dramatic, in some ways. He is not saying just that once we were walking in darkness or that our understanding was darkened (as in 4:18), but that once we were darkness itself. We were like spiritual black holes that absorb everything into ourselves and give nothing in return. In contrast now we are light – not just walking in the light, or have the light, but we are light in the Lord. Therefore we are to live as people whose very being belongs to light and not to darkness. We “emit” rather than only absorb. People seeing our good deeds see the light and are illuminated by it.
There is no sharper contrast than light and darkness. Even the smallest light is visible in pervasive darkness. Have you had the experience of driving across the prairies in the middle of a moonless night and seeing on the horizon a pinpoint of light that after five minutes is clearly seen to be car headlights? For all that distance, the light is clearly visible. So it is with our good deeds. They may not be public or spectacular. Every cup of water in Jesus’ name bears “the fruit of the light”.
Children of light live transparently and openly, without hypocrisy or fear or deception. Even more, children of the light bear the fruit of light which Paul says consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth. William Barclay (The Daily Study Bible) describes these virtues as: goodness is generosity of spirit, righteousness means giving to people and to God that which is their due, and truth is moral truth, something to be done as well as known. All of these virtues imply living for others. The people who behave as children of light are the kind of people this world needs.
One key to living as children of light is to “be careful little eyes what you see”, as the children’s Sunday School song went. Jesus put it this way:
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body is also full of light. (Luke 11: 34)
What we habitually look at inevitably shapes us. Therefore we must be discerning about what we read, watch and view, and how.
Finally, how do we find out what pleases the Lord? We read his word, we spend time in his presence, we learn from saints in the past and we listen to others in the present and learn from their experience. Everyone under 30 (more or less!) should have a spiritual coach. Everyone over 30 should be one.
You who are the light of the world, shine through us into the lives of others, and grant us much fruit from your light, so that we may be pleasing to you.
Print
Email
