For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. (Eph. 5:8)
I entered their homes to offer new ways to clean. I didn’t expect that I’d also recognize that they were children of light, especially as I compared them to other households who lived in darkness. The conversation I overheard as I set up my display was welcoming and kind. On the flip side, when I stepped into homes without Christ, coarse talk and foul language filled the air. Respect was missing. As I spread their counters with raw chicken and smeared their windows with butter, and followed up with a demonstration on new techniques for cleaning their homes, the Lord reminded me that windows weren’t the only things that need to be cleaned to let light shine through. Human hearts did too.
The Ephesians knew they’d been changed—cleaned up, if you will. They’d submitted to a new God; his light now shone through them. No longer were they to continue the pagan practices of their culture. Their former ways of life, the vices so common and accepted by their surrounding communities, were to be thrown off, for those practices were of the dark. As people of light, illuminated by Christ, the Spirit now controlled their habits and behaviors. Thanksgiving was their theme and holiness their goal.
We’ve also been cleaned up to shine his light. It’s our turn to share his cleaning method with others, so they can shine too.
Reflect on ways you’ve been cleaned up by Christ; share your transformation!
Jamie Hilty lives in Goshen, Indiana. Singing, story-sharing, and creating bring her joy. She’s grateful her pastor-husband shares his office and parents their kids so she can put words on paper.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
