Living as Children of Light

A much better start to the day, sticking fairly closely to my new schedule. My morning prayer was a bit stilted, as I'm not used to either the early morning or the focused, elongated prayer alone. I was able to pray for my family and church - and it took the full hour I scheduled. I certainly could use more practice so my mind doesn't wander so much. A good run on the treadmill followed, with teaching provided by Ravi Zacharias. (Thanks, Ravi.)

I swept through a dozen or so Psalms, then proceeded to Ephesians, reading the whole book. There were, as always, many things that struck me. The theme that has been repeated in my discussions and reflections for some time now has been the progression of the atheist mind and heart (both the ideological and functional atheists) into futility and darkness (see Eph. 4 or Rom. 1). As we sat last night watching "Mission to Mars," my daughters reeled at the ultimate message of aliens planting DNA "seed" on a primordial earth, resulting in evolution. They asked how people could believe such a flawed theory and how they could place such faith in an idea like alien fertilization.

The answer, offers Paul, is quite simple: "(The Gentiles) are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." (Eph. 4:18) He confirms in Romans, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools..." (vv. 21 and 22a)

The response of the Christian to "put off your old self," "to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self." This changing of garments leads us to what we are created for: "to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (vv.22-24) We were made to be God-like: Not in His omniscience, omnipresence or omnipotence, but in His righteousness and holiness.

It is light that creates this in us. Light exposes our darkness. The things we do when God is not looking become exposed when we understand that God is always looking. God's light is always on them and we foolishly believe we can hide our unseemly acts from God just as we do from men. But if we want the "life of God" in us, we will allow that piercing light to expose our darkness and then we will permit God to make us new.

I am praying that God will expose my darkness, in act and attitude, and will renew this worn and abused mind and body. In shame I bear marks on my body - not of Christ, but of my own sin. Would that I might join Paul in bearing the marks of my savior, the evidence of a life lived in the holiness and righteousness of God and in unswerving dedication to the preaching of the mystery of the Gospel of Christ.