week of 10/19/11 1st recorded HighQuest Ephesians 5:1-10

The passage I read was Ephesians 5:1-10

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A1-10&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

As I reflect:

My version (the NIV) starts off with, “follow God’s example,” but I have read it before in another version as “be imitators of God”. It is yet another memory verse for many Christians. The reason for this is because it separates us from men. We are not told to imitate other people, even those who appear to have greater deeds or morals than ourselves. We are instead told to follow the example of Christ. 1 Peter 1:15-16 states, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” I more than appreciate this because it gives me an aim that lacks judgment. For there is nothing in Christ for me to fall into judgment of. He (unlike any other possible leader/mentor on earth) has never failed. If I in childlike imitation am to do what I see done, then I would not want to follow anyone else.

Verse 3 and 4 go on to discuss in contrast the actions of the secular world and that these actions/words/thought processes have no place in those that are walking with the Lord. I don’t think Paul is saying that to become a saint you must not do these things. Instead, he is in a day of great sexual impurity and immorality (much like today) saying that as a saint these things ought not be a desire of your heart any more. After all, what joy does a person of the kingdom have in a vex of this world? Or what does a pure person desire of impurity? For those who have been cleansed have now seen the filth of such things and have no desire to again become ensnared in the muck and mire that they have been saved from. Simply put, we don’t live like we are holy as to become holy, but rather because we are made holy in Christ, we live in the way a saint ought to live.

Continuing with that separation thought of saint vs non saint, Paul speaks of the accountability of the person who chooses to stay in such a mindset as to take joy in those sinful ways. He says, “No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a person is an idolater – have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” This is a pretty self explanatory and straight forward verse making all the wider the line that separates the saved and unsaved by the way they chose to live and the outcome of where they also thusly chose to go. I greatly appreciate verse 6 and 7 as it clarifies the line of separation all the more.

I have often questioned how close to get to those who chose to continue in such immorality. I do want to be a witness to them, but sometimes struggle as to how close I need to get/stay to be an effective witness in their life. Here, I am told there is the wrath of God that is coming for those who are disobedient. This makes me want to be around them all the more as to take every opportunity to lead them away from disobedience and into a relationship that changes them from the inside out. However, I am also cautioned here to not partner with them. I believe this is similar to saying use discernment when choosing who is your friend vs. who is your mentee vs. who is unreceptive to your witness and thus you have no part in continuing in their presence. It’s a hard line to draw sometimes, though I have found it is sometimes a needed line. Though I don’t yet count myself as having perfected where and when to draw this line, each verse live verse 7 that I come across brings me one step closer and helps me to improve my discernment on the matter.

The last 3 verses seem to sum up well a great deal of our purpose. We are to be light to a world that is dead in the dark. We are to be fruitful. And finally, we are to find out what pleases the Lord. (the assumed un written is to then “do” what pleases the Lord)

My response to the Lord:

My Father in Heaven, I do have a genuine desire to please you. I know that it is impossible to do without faith because your word says so. And so my efforts to please you all stem from taking the word which you have given to me, believing what it says in faith, and applying it to my life daily. May this please you. I often wonder if at some points in my life I can count my action as a reason that you may have smiled in Heaven. It is a most pleasing thought, that somehow my humble efforts may have brought you happiness with your servant. The effort my children sometimes put into making a card or completing a project doesn’t lead to a product in itself that causes me to smile. Rather it is their effort of love that consumes me in joy. I hope it is the same with you; that your children here can make daily choices designed to please you and that it brings you joy to know that it is our desire to cause your smile. Lord, in an environment that is increasingly excepting not only sexual immorality, but every type of impurity and even making light of and joking about these things, may your Holy Spirit work in and guide me to be set apart and shine a light during those times when I might otherwise be tempted to take part. Continue to set me apart for your work Lord. In Jesus’ name.