Devotional of the week: Walk in the light (10 in Fruit of the Spirit series)

Photo: Angie Trenz, flickr

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:1–14)

One night when I was walking home after some meetings in Central London, I felt a strong nudge not to take the shortcut down the darkened side road. Not knowing if that feeling was from God or a passing fear flitting into my consciousness, I decided to go the long route anyway. I can’t tell you whether I was saved from a horrible act in the darkness, for I got home safely, locked the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. While passing that side street, however, I glimpsed a group of unfamiliar young men some ways down.

The dark can be scary because bad things can happen to us there; darkness in the Bible is used as a symbol of the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Here Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, urging them to live in the light. His letter isn’t motivated by the need to correct a specific heresy or sin, but rather to spark their imaginations into the ways of God’s kingdom of grace and truth.

Again the recurring theme of the old self and the new comes through. Once we lived in darkness; now we live in the life of God. Does Paul say we live in the light? No, he actually says we are light in the Lord. Now that’s a mind-blowing concept. We’ve left our old life behind – the one shrouded in darkness and sin – and now we reflect Jesus’ transforming light.

One of my friends was mired in the occult until one day two Christians shared the good news with her. She wrote a big “SAVED” in her diary, saying that afterwards people commented on the light that shone through her eyes. May it be so with us.

For reflection: Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).