Ezekiel 22:22 (NIV) As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.' "
Ephesians 5:3-5, 7-14 (NIV) 3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 7Therefore do not be partners with them. 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
The wrath of God comes not merely to condemn, but to call us to that life seen and given in Jesus Christ. Paul gives only a sketch of this life inherited from Christ, but each generalized word has a very specific meaning here. Goodness refers to a kind, gentle, sensitive lifestyle, as opposed to one that is coarse and callous. Righteousness means looking out for the rights of others and has the connotation of having the freedom and power to do that as opposed to those enslaved to seeking and demanding their own rights. Truth means transparency, no cover-ups, no pretense, no hypocrisy, no phoniness, just real, open, honest people who are neither ashamed of their flaws nor proud of their beauty.
Learning the life-style of light is a matter of some trial and error, but God is with us in the trials and does not hold the errors against us, because of knowing the desires of our hearts. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. I wish Paul had stopped there, but he says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (KJV). I like the word reprove because it means “prove again.” Prove again and again that this life seen in Jesus Christ is the way God meant for us to live.
If we have tasted the goodness of life in Jesus Christ, we have both the responsibility and the power to pull up those being dragged down by the darkness. Believe that no matter how far short we may be of God’s goal for our lives we are children of light, we have tasted some of our inheritance and we have learned a little of what is pleasing to God. Believe it and Christ will shine on you.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope May 13, 1990
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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