One night I decided to walk on the treadmill – in the dark. Usually there is enough light from outside to shed sufficient light for me to see what I’m doing. That was not so on that particular night. I proceeded to start walking, looked down to start my watch app, and suddenly realized I was not where I should be on the treadmill. I began reaching for the side bars, but in the pitch darkness I couldn’t find them. I flailed around until I realized I was falling off the side. Thankfully, I gently rolled onto the ground. It could have been a much harder landing, but God, in His mercy and grace, chose to soften my fall.
As I considered my actions, I realized that at one time that was a picture of me, spiritually speaking.
I was walking around in the pitch darkness of my sin. At times, I was flailing about as I looked for something to hold me up. But I wasn’t looking for Jesus to be the answer to my need. I was looking in all the wrong places for the fulfillment we can only receive when we truly trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
God, in His mercy and grace, through His living Word, Jesus, is sending people a warning. His warning is to turn to the light, and reject the darkness. That is what He enabled to happen in my life, and I will never regret the decision I made to follow Jesus.
But God will not force anyone to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. He wants willing hearts, not reluctant followers.
When we make the commitment to trust and follow Jesus, He places His expectations upon us. One of those expectations is that we represent Him well to the world.
In other words, we are to be light in the darkness.
At Christmas time people put all kinds of lights out to decorate. Those lights dispel the darkness, and can turn our New York dark and cold nights into a joyful experience.
God’s people need to be like a strand of lights. One bulb brings some light, but when many bulbs are strung together, how pleasant it is to look at them.
Lights guide us so we see where we are walking, especially when we walk on a treadmill. On a vehicle, lights enable us to drive in the darkness with safety. God’s people are to be like these physical lights. We should be helping people to walk according to the Holy Spirit, leading others to know Him through the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Please consider the following verses in Ephesians 5:1-17:
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” People who love Jesus, are enabled by His indwelling Holy Spirit to lead others to Him.
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Walking in the light requires God’s people to stop behaviors that fail to give Him honor, such as those described herein.
“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” When we walk in the light of Christ, our behavior is modeled after His. We don’t live in the evil behaviors described in this paragraph.
When we walk in the light of Jesus, our words are also different than the way the world operates. Our words are useful for encouraging, edifying, correcting, etc., but not useless or deceptive, as this verse points out:“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
People who walk in the light of Jesus need to fight the urge to fit in with those who walk in darkness, as these verses warn us: “Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
As light exposes what is hidden in the dark – for example, the scurrying from light of cockroaches – God’s people need to run from darkness and expose ungodliness. It is one way we can lead others to know the righteousness of Christ. It is not that any true follower of Jesus is better than another, but that we have experienced God’s powerful transformation such that we want to walk in His light. We do not have fond memories of our sinful choices because they were deadening, but our desire is to further experience the presence of God. His presence brings life, and as His followers we can shine that life for others to desire.
“For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Isn’t it glorious to be a follower of Jesus and to experience His light shining into our lives? This is where people find true freedom and true peace. It’s not the temporary ceasefire type of peace the world thinks of, but it is a permanent peace with the God who created us. He is the God whose image we bear.
So we are warned: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
I came across this saying by Thomas Watson, and believe that it points us to the heart of what it is to walk in the light of the Gospel:
“It is one thing to profess God, another thing to resemble Him.”
When we resemble Jesus, His light WILL shine in and through us to others. Those who only profess God, still live in darkness. These folks are missing the heart of Jesus. They are flailing in the dark, unable to find Christ, who can give them true stability.
But God is patient. He wants you and I to be a light to our sin-laden darkened world.
What do you want your life to represent – the light of Christ or the darkness of sin? There is no middle ground. Either we are for God, and His light, or we are against Him, walking in darkness.
Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please share it with others!
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