Living as Children of Light

Living as Children of Light. That’s the title over a passage of Scripture in my Bible, more specifically Ephesians 4. In the last few days, I have felt the Lord working in my heart on a few things.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt uncomfortable with what was being discussed, even among Christian friends? I have on many occasions, and I find that it happens quite a lot these days. We are a society inundated with raunchy movies, music that focuses on sex, lust, and alcohol, and all the other junk that hits us throughout the day. And you know what? I am not okay with it.

It’s time to take a stand.

It was during my time with the Lord the other day that God showed me something. I had experienced one of those uncomfortable situations recently and it was really bothering me how the whole situation went down. I poured my heart out to God. I was asking Jesus, where is the line in this? How do I stand up for what I truly believe is right without coming across as judgmental or being too harsh? Do I say nothing? Do I say something? Another words, do I call out even my Christian friends when I think something inappropriate is being said? Even at the risk of them saying that I’m being to judgmental and that I need to lighten up?

Two verses came to my mind as I chewed the subject over with Jesus.

Ephesians 4: 29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 5:4

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

To me, this scripture made it clear. As Christians we are not to let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, nothing that is obscene, foolish, or coarse. So again, I questioned Jesus. Where is that line? And at that moment, it was as if Jesus was whispering another passage into my ear, the one about the world HATING him.

John 15: 18-19

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Not a lot of people agreed with Jesus as he did his ministry here on earth. And that’s the thing. Not a lot of people may agree with the standards I hold to because I’m a Christ follower. I follow Christ, which means I follow His way, NOT the world’s way. Some of my Christian friends may not even agree with me, they may think some standards are too extreme, but I desire to live a life sold out to Jesus Christ. I so want every area of my life to be surrendered to Him. The only person who I am aiming to please is my Jesus.

And so with that, I refuse. I refuse to sit and be quiet.

The thing is, Christians, Christ-followers, we are SUPPOSED to be different. We are His, which means we are not OF the world.  We are to live as children of the light so that others may see Christ’s love! How can we show them this love if we ourselves are not living this way? If we listen to the same music, watch the same movies, use the same language, and joke around obscenely, how will they know? That’s just it, they won’t know!

We must not become numb to the callous heart of our sinful world. We become desensitized and before we know it, we go along with what the world says is okay, even in the LITTLE THINGS. And sometimes, I think it’s the little things that matter. Every area of our lives are supposed to be different, not just the things we FEEL like changing.  How will they know if we don’t show them the transforming work of Christ’s love? How will they know…..

Let’s live as children of the light Christ followers.

Now that’s a beautiful life.

Bondservant to the Messiah-A Beautiful Life

Bondservant to the Messiah- A Beautiful Life.

You might be wondering what this means. Well, let me explain.  It all started after my sophomore year of high school. I went on a two week missions trip to Lima, Peru with Focus on the Family through their magazine Brio. While there, I was challenged by one of our speakers at a nightly worship service. She challenged us to become BONDSERVANTS to Jesus.

What is a bondservant you ask? Well, according to the dictionary, it is a person bound in service without wages. Wait, working without pay? Doesn’t sound to appealing at first sight does it? Well, it is appealing. In fact, it’s more than appealing, it’s beautiful.

Let me give an example to further explain. There is a servant and a master. One day the master gives the servant his freedom. The servant is free to go and live his own life, he is free to do whatever he wants to do. But the servant decides to stay. What?? When I first heard this story that was exactly what I thought. I thought to myself why would this servant not go? He’s been given freedom! Our speaker went on further to explain. This servant not only loved serving his master, but loved his master, so he stayed with him. He promised to be a bondservant to his master.

My Jesus, the Almighty creator of heaven and earth didn’t just die for my us, he freed us from the bonds of slavery. He gave us freedom and still does. He will not force us to love Him or accept His free gift of salvation. He chose us even though He knew we may not choose Him, even though He DIED for us. That’s a pretty amazing kind of love, it’s the most sacrificial and ultimate love I will ever know in my life. But the whole point of it is this: Christ gave up His very life for me, so why shouldn’t I do the same? I don’t mean in a literal sense of course, but in a spiritual sense. Christ has given me the option to choose and I choose Him. I choose to serve Him in the freedom He has given me because I love Him. I choose to stay and be His bondservant because there is nothing better on this earth than serving Him.

And you want to know the best part? Choosing to serve Him as a “bondservant” is not being restricted or bound, but it is experiencing the most beautiful kind of freedom I could ever have. Freedom in serving Christ. A commitment to serve Him no matter what, to give Him your relationships, your worries, your fears, your dreams, your future, your life. I will die to my self, more of You Jesus and less of me!!

Being a bondservant to the Messiah is a beautiful thing and my Savior has blessed me with a beautiful life. I simply want to share my thoughts on serving the Lord with everything I have and all that I am, desiring to give Him everything, even if it costs me everything. I am still growing and still learning, as I will for the rest of my life. But for right now, I want to pursue Him, just as He pursued us relentlessly and still does. Hopefully in the midst of all this, I can continue to learn how to truly be a bondservant to my Jesus, through the storms, the deserts, the valleys, the mountaintops, the victories, through the ups and downs of this crazy ride. Now that’s a beautiful life.