Today’s verse for The Loved Bible Project is Ephesians 5:8 – “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of the light!”
Living as people of the light does not just involve sitting back and claiming victory in Jesus and knowing that we get to go to Heaven. The verse speaks to living well during the day in and day out part of our lives. It means living like people who have the light of Jesus inside them. It means that we would live with the light of Jesus shining in us in the grocery store line, in a traffic jam, at work, when we are being persecuted, when we are being treated well, when we are happy with our station in life, and when we are desperately seeking a change. Living as people of the light, means showing the light anywhere and everywhere we go, to anyone and everyone with whom we come into contact. It means not acting like a fool when we get angry, or tired, or annoyed. Galatians 5:25, Ephesians 4:1-4
As a nation, we have split ourselves off into separate camps, Democrats and Republicans, Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, conservatives and liberals. We have created a divide so large and real that to try and cross it gets you labeled by all camps as a liar, a faker, and a person with no real beliefs. We have dug our heels into whichever side we fall on so deeply that we cannot be moved, even by tragedy. We feel like to compromise on anything shows that we are weak and not committed to our position. We have decided that to even listen to someone who has different thoughts, different beliefs, different ideas, than we do, is abandoning our side entirely. So we build walls around our camp and spur others on to the awfulness of anything that happens or is said outside those walls.
All of this posturing, and defending of thoughts and ideals and beliefs, has so far divided us that we cannot figure out how to come together to work at a solution that might help the anger and hate that leads to these horrendous tragedies. The left has a solution, the right has a solution, and never the two shall meet. We can’t have a rational conversation about anything, because everything is the fault of the other side. We are truly not even hearing what the other side has to say – just because they are on the other side. And it is killing us. It is killing people because of faith, lifestyle, color, and job title. It is killing hundreds of people, in our country alone. And still, we rant and rave, and refuse to sit down at a table with our neighbor because they don’t share our views. Again, let me say clearly, this does not mean we give up our views and beliefs. This does not mean that we accept actions that we believe our wrong. It means that we listen. We treat others as Christ would treat them. (Matthew 7:12) Our actions will always speak louder than our words so, we listen and we try to show the love of Christ by living in a way that attracts others to that light. (Matthew 5:16)
We must quit assigning blame to everyone except ourselves. We must stop talking about how if just the other side would listen, this would stop. We must find a way to make a difference, one person, one meal, one conversation at a time. It is not laws, or politicians, or churches that are killing are nation. It is hatred and division and intolerance, and please hear me say, that it runs both ways. The hate, the division, and the intolerance run deep on both sides, and from most people on those sides. If you are reading this and thinking, “Yeah, I know those kind of people,” then you are missing the point. It is time to look inward and ask, “Who do I hate with my words, my actions, and my non-actions? Who do I refuse to treat well because they don’t agree with me? Who I am completely intolerant of”? It is time to answer those questions without bias, without defending ourselves because we are right, without blaming the other side because they are intolerant of us. It is time to start looking at what we each can do, individually, to try and fix this mess.
For me, that is where today’s The Loved Bible Project verse comes to play. “Live as children of the light.” Not talk as children of the light, not read your Bible and go to church as children of the light. LIVE – day in and day out as children of the light. Verse 9 goes on to say, “For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” What I gather from those verses is that if we live by the power of the Holy Spirit, as people of the light, we will be doing things that are good and right and true. (John 13:25) That tells me that is a series of actions, not speeches, a series of good deeds, not good words. (James 2:22-24) Think about this with me, if we were all using the power that is available to Christians, to live as children of the light, and we spent our time DOING things that are good and right and true, what would that look like? (Ephesians 1:19-21) What would it change? What kinds of things are good and right and true? How would you have to change your words, your thoughts, and your actions to do the things that are good and right and true?
The Bible gives us a couple of ideas. It says to love your neighbor as yourself, and it quickly explains that all people are our neighbors. (Mark 12:31) Showing love can be done in so many ways. Think about the people you know, the people you pass by and don’t know, the people you know and don’t like. How can you love the better today? Can you give a smile, a listening ear, a word of encouragement, food, time, etc. The list could go on for a very long time. But I guarantee it doesn’t involve telling them they are wrong, or stupid, or the cause of all the hate in the world. I guarantee that it doesn’t involve making fun of their religion, their lifestyle, or their beliefs. Today, take some time, think of some ideas, write them down and then go out and do them. Love people better today. The Bible also tells us to feed the hungry and care for widows and orphans. (Luke 3:11, Matthew 25:35, James 1:27) All of those commands require action. They require going out and doing something for someone else. They require sacrificing your time, your resources, and your energy. Each time you sacrifice, though, you receive a benefit far greater than your sacrifice. I don’t know how to explain it I just know that your heart gets filled up with good emotions rather than bad ones. Find someone you can help today – even in a small way – and help them – with no strings attached.
This week, the news of such loss of life, such misunderstanding and hatred, is once again dominating the headlines. We can, and should, mourn with those who mourn, we can pray for those effected, we can pray that no more will be affected, and all of those are biblical and crucial to healing. (Romans 12:15) I will be pleading with God today. But today, today there has to be more. Today, we have to start trying to live as children of the light. We must make a concerted effort to love people better, listen to people more, argue with people less, walk through the hard with people more. Today, we need to find something that we can do rather than say. Today, and tomorrow, and the next day, let’s make our world a better place by living as people of the light and spreading that light to as many people and places as possible.
To quote Family Force Five, “ I’ve never seen a soul set free through an argument. I’ve never seen a hurt get healed in a protest. But I’ve seen sinners turned to saints through grace. It’s love, love, love that lights the way. It’s love that lights the way. Let it be our arms wide open. Bigger than the words we’ve spoken. Let it be our heart for the broken. If we’re gonna light, light, light the way to You. Let it be love, yeah. Nothing but love….It’s love that light’s the way.”
Family Force Five – “Time Stands Still”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galations 5:12-15
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