EPHESIANS 5:8

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

TO PONDER

At the moment, it's not hard to see darkness in the world. It probably has always been easy to see if we only cared to look. I mean it's only 6 chapters into the first book of the Bible when God decides it's too dark - the sinfulness and corruption of humanity is so bad, God's only option is to wipe the slate clean with the great flood and start again with one righteous man and his family. It didn't take long.

But I want to invite you to imagine your self in complete darkness. Can you imagine, after hours in complete darkness, the sense of hope and joy you might feel at seeing a distant light? For many of us who have been privileged enough to have been born and raised in Christian faith, this can be a hard thing to do. To some extent, we have always been aware of the light of God in our lives. We might have tried to ignore it for a bit, or even turned our backs on it for a while, but it has always just kind of been there, shedding light on our worldviews and perspectives.

But what if you were that spark of light in someone's otherwise dark life? What if your pleasant smile and "hello, how are you today?" is the one beam of God's light that makes it into the dark world of someone else's life today? What if disconnecting yourself from your phone and engaging with the person sitting next to you on the train sparks the conversation and connection that a lonely person has been craving?

The thing about Christians which I think Paul is getting at here, is that now that we are children of light we should be part of the solution, not the problem. I cringe every time I see a car with a Jesus fish bumpersticker and and angry fist shaking out the driver side window at the driver who has just cut them off or 'stolen' their carpark. It's no different when I hear someone shouting about 'Christian values' as an excuse to attack, or belittle someone with a different opinion - we can disagree with one another and still love one another with the love of Jesus - speaking the truth to one another in love, not conflict.

Too often these days, you can find people who are happy to talk to you about Jesus, who he was, what he taught, some of the things he did. After all, he was a pretty stand up kind of guy. Maybe you believe he rose from the dead, maybe you don't but most people recognise the character of a guy who will lay down his life for his friends. But these same people who have a lot of time for Jesus, often have little time for the church. Too often they encounter church people who are more interested in getting their bums in a pew or their offering in the plate, than helping people genuinely encounter the love of Jesus. Too often they encounter Christian churches or denominations that are so focussed on making a distinction between their church and the one down the road, that you could be forgiven for thinking their worship services were more important than Jesus ever could be.

This kind of living only adds to the confusion and darkness - that's who we were - but no longer! Now you are light in the Lord, so live as children of light.

PRAYER:Lord of Light, I thank you that you have placed your list of life in me. I ask that you would help me to let my light shine so that those in the darkness might find their way to a life changing encounter with you. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle