Ephesians 5:8
“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of the light.”
Read the scripture and let God’s Spirit speak to you.
Evaluate your life, faith, relationships, and witness.
Ask God for help, direction, and courage to change.
Live it out today! Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you!
Into the Light
I’m walking into the light.
I’m drawing near to the fire.
I’m staying in this fight.
I’m trying to reach higher.
Chorus:
-
Into the light, this I pray,
Into the light, I’ll be able to stay,
Into the light, show me the way,
Into the light, Lord, lead me today,
Into the light, Into the light.
I’m waiting for your touch.
I’m seeking something greater.
I need you oh so much,
and it can’t wait ‘til later.
I know it’s getting late.
It’s time that I start livin’
I’m stepping out in faith
into this light you’ve given.
I’m holding back my tears
for all that you’ve forgiven.
I’m laying down my fears
to live the life you’ve given.
___________________________
- By Paul Frantsen
© 2005 Cross the Sky Ministry
www.crossthesky.com
Personal Reflection
How can I walk in the light of Christ each day?
As children of light how do we relate to darkness?
Thank God for someone who has brightened your life.
Pray for a friend who is going through a dark time.
How can you shine God’s light into your friend’s life?
How can your faith family be a city on a hill?
More Scriptures
“For you are the light of the world. You are a city set on a hill. Let your light shine before others in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
Isaiah 60:1
Psalm 23
Walk in the Light
There’s nothing quite like a walk in the forest in the middle of the night in total darkness. After enjoying an hour or so of fellowship and laughter among friends around a campfire, it’s not easy leaving the warmth and light behind to venture into the darkness, not being able to see your own hand in front of your face.
I remember working at a Christian Bible camp one summer during my college years. My cabin was located on a hill across the river and through the woods in an isolated part of the camp. Many times I would walk the dark path with a group of campers in tow – not a big deal with the kids talking and laughing and shining their flashlights all around. But to walk that path all alone on a dark night, well, you really start to feel the effects of the all-consuming darkness.
I remember crossing the bridge one weekend and wading out into the utter blackness of the dark forest, my eyes wide open, barely able to make out vague shapes of trees and spaces of dark sky above. In front of me a wall of black seemed to push right up against my face. I felt as if I was being smothered by a thick dark blanket. As I tentatively stumbled into the darkness, every snap of a twig and every brush of a tree limb was magnified tenfold. I began to recite Psalm 23 as I strained to keep my fears and phobias at bay. It was a walk into utter darkness. I was walking blindly, cautiously, fearfully, unsure of my steps, not knowing where I was going or what was up ahead.
How is it that we as Christians are called “children of light” and yet we walk in darkness, fear, and sin so much of the time. How can it be that “the Light came into the world and yet we loved the darkness rather than the light.” (John 3:20) Instead of walking in the light, so often we are content to dwell in darkness. Instead of stepping out in faith, so often we are paralyzed by our fears. We blind ourselves with our sins rather than claiming freedom and life through the Gospel of Christ. This was never meant to be! In the book entitled, “In His Face”, Bob Sorge writes, “God never meant for us to tour hell on our way to heaven.” The call to walk as children of light is a call to holiness, faith, purity and life.
Walking in the light is perhaps too obvious for us. Isn’t it as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Need I say more? But the full impact of what the Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 5:8, “Walk as children of the light”, is meant to be taken with the understanding that “we once were living in darkness”. Walking in the light, by comparison, is completely different than walking in darkness. It’s like night and day, like black and white, dare I say, it’s like dark and light! Walking in the light is about faith not fear, trusting not doubting, it’s about knowing not wishing, about confidence not caution, about boldness not timidity.
I think at times we take the holy light of our faith in Christ for granted. We stop walking in the light. We grow lazy. We slip into darkness, which to our worldly eyes is enticing and pleasurable. After we’ve dabbled in darkness for awhile it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the difference between light and dark, between good and evil. If we are not pulled back into the light, we gradually become accustomed to this strange grayness, a mixture of good and evil, of truth and falsehood, of light and dark, which ultimately impairs our vision and spiritual insight.
It’s a common fact that most automobile accidents occur around dawn or dusk, the time when it is not completely dark or completely light. Objects are difficult to see because everything tends to blend together. Animals know this too, which is why some are most active during these in-between times. They can blend into their surroundings and disappear more easily and thus escape predators. In fact, some predators do the same thing because they can more easily move about undetected.
When we as Christians choose to live our spiritual lives in a sort of predawn existence, we are not being wise, we are putting ourselves at risk. When we are not able to determine things that are spiritually risky, the enemy is most dangerous. When we live in this middle ground of spiritual grayness, we put ourselves, our families, our friends, and virtually everything at risk.
God calls us to walk in the light – to do the deeds that have been wrought in God. (John 3:21) Whether it is walking in the full light of God at mid-day or bearing a candle to the dark corners of the world, we are called to walk in the light of God, to be the light of the world, to shine brightly for all to see – our faith, not hidden, but lifted high – so others might see and come to the light and know the salvation and life found in Christ. (Matt. 5:14-16)
May we live and walk and breathe and abide in the light of God – soaking up the words of hope and life and love and grace found in Christ. May we be wary of sitting idly in darkness and allowing our spiritual eyesight to become accustomed to the dark. May we light a candle and hold it high so the darkness might be exposed and people might come to the light of God.
Walk in the Light!