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A lot of families went through the annual ritual of school registration
this week. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it can
be scary for students who haven't been through it before.
You don't know who will be there, if you'll do something
really dumb, if you'll get it all together. It's
also scary for parents when they get the bill. Those with two
or three or four kids in school have to pay out hundreds and
hundreds of dollars in registration fees before classes ever
start. Good thing we believe in free public education or it could
get really pricy. Anyway, the things we tell ourselves in scary
situations can make a big difference. I heard one of ours say, "Everything
is okay." I said, that's great self-talk. We can
choose the light, we can choose to have faith. We can say a truth
to ourselves even before it becomes true. "I'm gonna
be okay, God is with me, people will like me, everything's
going well." I might feel scared or alone or angry, but
what if I focus instead on the light of God, and tell myself
the Christ-based reality? Then I'll live into that reality
more and more. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not yet seen.
This passage is about choosing the light, and living in the
light. Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Will we accept that as true for our lives, and will we live as
though it is true for us?
We all have our days. I've been known to yell at my kids
for things they didn't even do, because I didn't
take the time to ask them and figure out the situation. Sometimes
my wife says things to me that I take the wrong way and I end
up saying things to her that I wish I hadn't. She didn't
mean anything by it, and yet I've responded in an unkind
way. Did you ever find yourself in a big argument over something
that wasn't even said or intended? Isn't it strange
how we can say such hurtful things to the people we love the
most—things that we wouldn't dream of saying to acquaintances
or strangers? C.S. Lewis said so many people speak more disrespectfully
to their own children than they would to anyone outside the family.
Now these things might seem a long way from our passage. But
if we had kept on reading to the end of the chapter, we would
have found they're directly related. Because right after
he urges us to live as children of the light, he talks at length
about relationships—between spouses, between parents and
children, employers and employees. Being children of the light
is about living daily life in practical ways. The light is one
of the most widely-used mystical symbols. It's spiritual
and practical all at once.
Let's not ever lose sight of the gospel word, the accomplished
fact, that you and I are complete in him already. Let's
not ever fall into the trap of thinking, when I finally get my
act together God will accept me. When I make myself good enough,
he'll love me. No: when we trust Jesus, then there's
a real sense that God has fully accepted us, right now. We have
all we need. Cross and resurrection. We're complete in
Christ.
But at the same time, we're supposed to be growing into
that new person, we're to live daily into being children
of the light. As school begins, some parents are wise enough
to realize, you need to buy clothes that are a little too big.
Some kids are growing so fast, they need clothes that are a lot
too big. And if they complain, we say, Don't worry, they'll
fit you just right soon enough. We're growing into our
new person in Christ. And the Bible faith tells us, Don't
worry, it'll happen. God will see to it.
Now there are two ways for us to live as children of the light.
Number One is to devote ourselves every day to finding and doing
what pleases the Lord. Seek the sublime. Sometimes we hear it
said "If only I knew what God's will is for my life." And
some people do get a strong and powerful vision for how the whole
thing is supposed to be. But mostly God's will is plain,
and pretty simple. I mean, if I see a person get hurt by the
side of the road, I don't have to stand around and ponder
what God wants me to do with my life. First of all, get that
kid some help. I remember one of the candidates for governor
here in Illinois stopped to help a kid who had been hit by a
car on his bike. He waited there until help arrived. Best of
all, he didn't seek publicity for what he had done. The
boy's family told the media anyway. The point is, it's
a daily thing. And sometimes we're so caught up in
wondering what we're to do that we miss what's right
there in front of us. So a little later it says, Sleeper—wake
up—rise from the dead—and Christ will shine on you.
We need to ask for awakening—alertness—ready to see
what God wants us to do, and to do it. Next week, as we celebrate
the mission and ministries of our congregation at Get on Board,
we'll also be reminding ourselves of why we exists as a
faith community, and what our purpose is. It's to make
that connection between God's grace, and God's call
to a waiting world.
The second way to be children of the light is, avoid the slime.
Avoid the slime. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.
Interesting phrase, isn't it? It says "The fruit
of the light is found in all that is good and right and true." But, what's
the fruit of darkness? There isn't any. It's unfruitful.
It doesn't produce anything of value. Only destruction.
Only emptiness. No fruit. Do Christians really need to be told
that? Avoid evil? Well, yes. Recently an article appeared reflecting
on the all the public scandals we've had recently. The
writer observed that many of those involved are church-going
folks, some of them very vocal, believing Christians. In sports
and politics and business and entertainment and the church, genuine
believing folks have participated in the works of darkness. Are
they merely hypocrites, pretending to believe? I don't
think so. It would be too easy to say, well, they're not
real Christians. They're just faking it. But what if they're
just like us? Any believer can fall. We all fall—maybe
not so spectacularly as the famous, but just as disastrously.
That's why the scripture continually calls us to the fight
for personal integrity. The writer of the article wonders what
in the world the churches are teaching, if not basic integrity.
The great chapter 6 of Ephesians is all about the armor of the
Christian. Fighting the good fight. And a lot of it is a fight
for personal integrity. And it's not just for my own soul—it's
for the witness of the church. This image of light calls to mind
the original call of Israel: it's too small a thing that
you should exist only unto yourself—I am sending you to be
a light to all people.
And as always, the scripture has in view redemption: it's
not to punish but to transform: "everything that becomes
visible is light." It's a good thing to so to the
Lord, "Search me and know me, O Lord, and see if there
be any evil way in me."
Now it says, "don't participate in the works of
darkness, but instead, expose them." Seek the sublime,
and stay away from the slime. Who are we to expose the darkness
of others? Some people are way too eager to do that—passing
judgment when Jesus said do not judge. But there is a prophetic
role for the people of God. In humility and love, we are to speak
truth to power, to shine the light on all that is done under
cover of darkness. And a lot has been done under cover of darkness.
Democracy requires light and truth in order to be able to function.
Secrecy in is the death knell of democracy. Our system of business
has brought jobs and blessings throughout the world—but
it requires open, honest records for all to see, and practices
in accord with law, and a level playing field, or people lose
confidence and the system collapses. The light of God is a holy
light—his truth is marching on.
At the height of the Second World War, the great theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr published a book called The
Children of Light and the Children of Darkness. He tried to account for the church's
seeming inability to offer any effective response or opposition
to the forces of Nazism and evil that were engulfing the world
at that time. This passage from Ephesians formed the foundation
of his argument. Part of his thesis was that people of faith
are called to be every bit as alert and aware as the children
of darkness, but to apply this awareness to the good of the community.
For the church, he maintained, there can be no burying our heads
in the sand as we pretend not to know what's going on.
We don't get to be naïve. Be awake to what's
going on. Make the most of the time.
With a couple of teens in the house we know this drill: Sleeper,
awake. Rise from the dead. You have to get to school, or to practice,
or work, or there are chores to be done. But what if we put it
a different way? Christ is waiting for you. The light of God
will shine on you. In other words, there's a great purpose
for your day, because the Lord will go with you today.
And that's what this is ultimately about. Our life matters.
Our thoughts, our deeds, our misdeeds, our living in the light,
all matter. This one day matters. You and I are intended for
greatness. This week, the text challenges us to be determined
to live in the light all week long. Choose the good, seek the
best, make the most of the time. Let's give it a try. And
let's see if the last part is true for us too: "Christ
will shine on you."
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