Children of Light
Walk as Children of Light
We are told in Scripture to walk as children of Light. We know that if one turns a light on, the room is no longer dark. Darkness and light don’t mix.
If a pail of clean water gets a little bit of manure in it, it all becomes contaminated and we won’t drink it. We must keep the manure out of our lives! Just as a little yeast raises the whole loaf, so does a little sin in our life.
How Righteous do I have to be?
There is an age-old question that many continue to ask today. How righteous must we be? How much or what sin can we commit and still be OK with God?
“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:5)
This verse does not differentiate between a “half-immoral” person or one who is more than half immoral. People are either moral or immoral, there is no degree of immorality in God’s eyes. Moreover, it states the fact that an immoral person will not have any inheritance in God’s coming Kingdom. Therefore, we must choose daily to walk in God’s ways.
Children of Light are Cleansed from Sin
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. And if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
There is a difference from being a sinner, which we all are before we are washed clean by Jesus’ blood, and sinning from time to time. As a Christian we should be sinning less and less and overcoming sin.
Yes, we will continue to sin, unfortunately, until we are perfected in the resurrection, but this does not mean we should allow sin to reign in our lives. We must take sin captive and expel it!
No Longer a Sinner, now a Child of Light
1 Corinthians 10:13 encourages us and speaks truth to the topic of sin in our lives. “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Another way to get closer to the perfection we are called to is to focus on God and Jesus. We should work to imitate them, not our neighbor or even the person next to us in the pew. We have been bought with a price and we have been made righteous. Christians are not righteous in and of themselves, but because of the work that Jesus did and it is him in us through God’s spirit that we are made righteous. Thus, we are no longer a sinner.
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth). Ephesians 5:8-9
Abandon Worldy Attachments
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ.”
Each Christian must ask themselves if they are willing to abandon the attachments of this world. This commitment to following Jesus is the question each must answer, like the rich young ruler. Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus?
Action & Obedience
Bonhoeffer also said, “Every moment and every situation challenges us to action and to obedience. We have literally no time to sit down and ask ourselves whether so-and-so is our neighbor or not. We must get into action and obey—we must behave like a neighbor to him.”
Each thought, word and deed must drive us to action and obedience!
Matthew 5:48 gives the simple command: Be Perfect as God is Perfect.
Jesus set the standard high! Are you up to challenge of walking in God’s ways? Are you willing to strive for this perfection? Our fruit reveals how serious we are and if we are walking in the light as we were commanded.
Chidren of Light Strive for Perfection
Matthew 5:48 gives the simple command: Be Perfect as God is Perfect.
Jesus set the standard high! We are to live as children of light. Are you up to challenge? Are you willing to strive for this perfection? Our fruit reveals how serious we are and if we are walking in the light as we were commanded.
