Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Carefully Determine




For the last few years, when I read the Bible I’ve been asking myself what the scripture tells me about what pleases God. 

That’s exactly what Paul tells the Ephesians to do. They must carefully determine what pleases Him. This instruction follows the reminder that they have moved from the darkness to the light.
At one time, we Christians were full of darkness, but now we have light and must live as people of light.

I believe living in the light is another way of saying that we are being sanctified. Having been forgiven of our sins and justified before the Lord, we are now being transformed into the image of Christ.

Living in the light produces only what is good, right and true. It’s encouraging to know that as I walk in the light that Christ sheds on my way, I will do good things. Or, if you don’t mind the mixed metaphor, I will bear good fruit.

This verse brought to mind Micah 6:8. There’s no doubt about how to walk as people of the light because God has told us what is good. To walk in the light is to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

And how do we know what is right? We carefully determine what pleases the Lord. There’s a beautiful symmetry in the way God speaks to us in the Bible. It’s full of God’s commands, starting with the Royal Law  to love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind. That law is expanded on in the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Bible. All we need to know about living in the light is in the Bible.

Jesus is the Light, but His word lights our way. This year, I commit to read the Bible more, and to more carefully look in it for what pleases Him.

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