The latter half of the book of Ephesians calls us to live in a way that is compatible with our new nature, our identity in Christ. We were formerly dead, but we are now alive; we used to walk in darkness, but now we are called to the light.
Even after coming to Christ, we can fall back into old habits and patterns of walking in the false narrative of our past. In doing so, we identify with the “crooked and perverse generation” (Philippians 2:15) in which we live. Especially in our current culture, we may fall prey to the idea that we can choose whatever identity we please, ignoring truth.
God, however, calls us to live out of our new narrative in a way that is counter cultural. After all, we are now “Light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8), and we are to walk in the fruit of the Light, which is righteousness, goodness, and truth (Ephesians 5:9).
It is our calling to appear as agents of Light in the midst of this current darkness. Every day is an opportunity to live out this calling, reorienting ourselves toward God morning and evening. As we make our plans, we must submit them to God, recalibrating our lives. When we go to bed, we must refocus on God, surrendering what happened during the day to Him.
What we put into our head and heart matters. When we put in truth and apply it, we will walk wisely, making the most of the time (Ephesians 5:16).
Part of doing this involves recognizing that sin is deceitful; temptation only presents pleasure to us, drawing our attention away from consequences. However, giving in to temptation is never worth it. Small compromises can have big consequences, leading us away from Christ. Think about the life of Solomon—he was wise, but without any kind of accountability, he slowly walked away from the Lord for a time.
When we see such people in our own time, we need to look inward, recognizing that we too can be tempted by sin. As a result, we must constantly turn to Christ, inviting accountability by naming our sins to a small group of Christian friends. This will help us walk in the light of Christ, putting our position into practice.
The good news is that Christ ultimately has the victory; He is our sure and steady foundation.
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