To God Be Glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus

There have always been “fads” that people rush to follow. The world calls out through many different voices to get our attention and to distract us from the narrow road to which Jesus calls those who would follow Him. That’s why Paul’s statement at the beginning of Ephesians 5 demands our attention: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children!” This call to be like God, who is by grace our Father in heaven, requires laying aside everything that is contrary to His revealed will in order to pursue true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). We who believe are not “free” to go live as the world lives, but rather, to now live as JESUS lived because He is living His life in us and through us! Our responsibility is now to shine God’s light into the darkness and to offer the life God has graciously given to us in Christ to those who are still living in the darkness of spiritual death and sin. We know living in the darkness reveals bondage to sin and separation from God and we are called to love people enough to expose that darkness for what it is: slavery that leads to death! Knowing God’s revealed will through the Scriptures, believers are called to use every opportunity to call people out of the darkness and into the light, even as we ourselves display the power of His Spirit by living in the presence of the Lord every day and turning away from sin to worship God in the glorious freedom we have been given in Christ! May we so live that His light shines through us, “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Ephesians 5:20).