John 8:29 (NKJV) 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”
Ephesians 5:1-4, 6-8 (NIV) 1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
Paul is not being a prude about crudeness – immorality and impurity and greed – but rather is saying that this crudeness acts as a kind of anesthesia of the soul and darkens our sensitivities to a life that is pleasing to God and pleasurable to ourselves. Is crudeness seeping into our lives as a false belief about God that hinders us from copying Him as God’s children?
There is help, and it comes from being a part of those who walk as children of the Light. We are products of our environment. We receive our language, our values, and our coping skills from those around us. The company we keep does make a difference, and we need a community where goodness, righteousness, and truth are practiced. We are helped toward Christian excellence by the surrounding support of people who are genuinely seeking to walk as children of the light, and where there is a commitment to trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
When we replace people-pleasing with God-pleasing we put our emotional well-being into the hands of One proven absolutely trustworthy. God keeps balance in our taking care of others and ourselves, allowing love to grow. When we try to learn what is pleasing to God we learn how to walk into a situation awake and aware of what God may require us to say and do, or what God may require that we not say or do. When we are trying to learn what is pleasing to God, we sense signals that allow us to respond in ways that are appropriate and fitting. We know when to confront, and when to comfort. That is what gave Jesus His first-class style, “for I always do those things that please Him.”
We are helped toward Christian excellence by our commitment of trying to learn what is pleasing to God. It is not striving to be people without faults and flaws. We are talking about being pleasing to a God whose love is so bright, whose plan is so right, and who has a hold on us so tight that He shines through our flaws and our faults with a Gracious Light.
Preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 22, 1989
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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