Just in case you’re wondering: yes, I’m going to write a bossy post for wives too. BUT, this morning I’m not. Instead, I want to take advantage of my popcorn brain and attention span in order to spend a *little bit of time on the subject of walking, as presented in Ephesians. Why this detour? Well, because I didn’t do it earlier. And honestly, “detour” is hardly the right thing to call it. The way in which we relate to our spouses (and servants, and masters, and children, and everybody) is a road that we walk, or a way in which we walk.
Last Sunday our pastor preached a sermon on Ephesians 5, discussing what it is to walk “as children of light.” Suffice it to say, I left the sanctuary eager to dive deeper into the text, to simmer for a bit on the words of Paul, the love of Jesus, the (my) journey of Christianity. There are many passages in the Scriptures that refer to walking in Christ verses walking in the ways of the world. The questions I want to process in this post are these: What is the Bible talking about when it refers to walking in the ways of the World, and what is it talking about when it refers to walking in the way of God (you know, the narrow way)? Rather than bringing in all the passages in the entire Bible that use these analogies, and writing a book, I’ll try to limit myself to mostly verses from Ephesians.
Walking in the way of the world in the Scriptures is used synonymously with walking in darkness. What is this darkness?
You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. (Eph. 4:17-19)
Life in sin, death in sin. Walking in sin. A journey in sin, for sin, along with sin, with the end destination being a big sin resort with all the best sinners to do all the biggest, fanciest sins. Super sexy, super boozy, super stupid, super fun, lots of angry hangovers and self-loathing, then repeat! Sounds really bright and happy initially, right? But we all know it hardens us. It kills us. It kills our families, it produces all sorts of jealousy, discontentment, anger, and sorrow, not to mention the physical pain and suffering that litters our lives along the way.
Here in the Bible belt, churches and church-goers are experts at recognizing and calling out the sins of drunkenness and fornication. Conservative church-goers are well practiced in pointing out the sins of abortion and... ignorance. More progressive church-goers are experienced in bringing to light the sins of oppressive social dynamics. Each denomination and person doing their best to “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord,” to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead [to] expose them” (Eph. 5:10).
This Sunday, as I considered what it means to be “of the world,” as I pondered the concepts of spiritual darkness and what it means to be called out of that darkness, God’s Word once again pierced my heart. Pastor Gage challenged us to boldly be light. To call out the darkness for what it is. As I looked further at the text and reflected on my own Bible belt cultural experience, my conscience was sent reeling once again. The road in “unfruitful works of darkness” is summed up in the word idolatry. Idolatry of self, of the whims, desires, and passions of myself. Or in the idolatry of someone else, or something else—a road traveled in bondage and servitude to the whims, desires, and passions of someone or something else. This way could involve drunkenness and sexual gluttony, but it certainly isn’t limited to those things. What about anger, covetousness, foolishness, and wrath? What about the power plays that take place in dark, isolated places? The ways that involve hateful manipulation, sly thievery, and other subtle forms of dehumanizing others in order to secure our idols (or more accurately, to better secure our slavery to our idols)? What about discontentment with the gifts and beauty God gave you? What about mockery, slander, gossip, jealousy?
God, in the teaching of the apostle Paul, doesn’t limit the way of the world, or the way of darkness to those red-letter sins that other people practice, or those sins that I might’ve struggled with if I hadn’t been born into a culturally privileged or underprivileged gender and/or race. This darkness is dark. It’s confusing. Some of the works of darkness are obvious, but some are hard to discern. Sometimes we think we are good at discerning the dark works of others (and sometimes we probably are), but are we able to discern the darkness in our own hearts, homes, and church families? Many of us are well traveled on the road of pointing fingers at the godless culture around us, but are infantile in our ability to bring to light the festering anger, envy, and idolatry in our own spheres that is trying so hard to kill the image of God in us and the people around us. It can be so scary acknowledging and repenting of the thoughts and ways through which we are harming ourselves and those around us. It can be terrifying confronting the warped beliefs and sins of those who are sinning against us and those who depend on our advocacy, within our own homes, churches, and communities. Especially when those people are near and dear to us. Satan is not a joke. Demonic warfare is not make-believe. It is not limited to the years in which Jesus walked the earth. This darkness is present. And it is fierce.
OK, WHAT JUST HAPPENED. This was supposed to be brief. Whoops. Goals.
Let's turn. Let’s try to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord,” and what it is to walk as “children of light.” How do we recognize the truth, the light, the good? What is it to live counter-culturally, to live wisely?
John says: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” (1 John 4:1)
But that is not the way,” (the way of darkness we discussed earlier) “you learned Christ!--- assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:20-24)
I think it’s important to note here, how the apostle Paul says to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. This is not a head knowledge. This is not a picture that separates the head from the heart, saying that if you know the right things, your heart will bear good fruit. I don't think he is saying that walking in the light happens when a person intellectually comprehends the essentials of the Christian faith. He also doesn’t say here that to condemn idols will result in walking in holiness. He basically says, as far as I understand, that rather than desiring the former (sin enslaved) things, desire that which you know is true. Renew the spirit of your minds. Renew the heart of your minds. The Ephesians knew the truth of Jesus. But did they long for it? Did they love it? Or had their love grown cold, resulting in corpse-like, fearful, perverted, power-mongering "Christianity," rather than flourishing, darkness-fighting life? The comparison of the old self to the new self makes me think of a transfer of passions. It’s more than dying to those old passions and idolatries. It’s being born, every day, into new, lively, glorious life. In which we walk.
"Therefore do not become partners with [the children of idolatry]; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)..." (Eph. 5:7-9)
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16) This is no joke, people.
And, jumping back a few verses:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:1-6)
Skipping right along, we read, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph. 5:1-2)
Along with walking in wisdom, humility, thanksgiving, kindness, gentleness, and patience, walking as “children of light,” is walking in love. Walking in love summarizes the life in light.
A couple passages from 1st John are worth considering here:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:7–11)
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:18-21)
The Christian walk is a life embedded in the person of Christ. The fear driven life of idolatry falls away as we rest deeper and deeper in Him. He Himself tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Ephesians is all about embracing and being enveloped in the love of Jesus, and then turning and extending that embrace of love to those around you. He is our road, our way. His light is our light. This “new self,” this “righteousness” and “holiness,” this “likeness of God,” is a self that is Jesus, and a self that God gives us to put on. Off with the old, on with the Jesus. This way that we enter into when we walk deeper into Jesus each day, is a road that is enlightened by God’s truth and goodness as it is revealed to us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. Light shines into the shadows, exposing evil as His Spirit stirs in us, convicting our hearts and minds with the truth of who we aren’t and who we are, of whose we aren’t and whose we are, of who He isn’t and who He is, and of how very much He values the people He created and creates. When God fills you, your darkness (and the darkness in your spheres of life) feels so much darker than it did before. Colder, harsher, blacker, more foul, more deadly. When you see it, call it out. Then turn to Jesus and let the life of His light refresh your soul. Don’t stop there though, let honesty, repentance, and this increasing knowledge and embracing of Christ shine into the darkness that has been plaguing your relationships, your home, your church, and your world.
Finally, Ephesians warns us to not walk naked into battle. Find strength in the Lord, and His strength, not your own pride and abilities. The schemes of Satan love to use your strength, but they don’t stand a chance against God’s goodness. Read the Word. Study it. Remember what is true. Guard your heart with the truth of the gospel, walking your road with the message of peace, not a message of persecution and oppression. Shield yourself from the lies and fears of doubt by remembering God’s unfailing faithfulness. Your hope is in and from God. It does not rest on your goodness, and so you are safe. Dwell in the presence of God in His Word, and His truth will be an invaluable weapon in the deep dark places of life. Pray with and for each other, and persevere (from Eph. 6:18).
*emphasis on the scriptures was added
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