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Living in the Light The theme for our worship this morning is “Living in the Light” . I have come up with an alternative title, and it could well be - “Why bother with a torch?” What comes to my mind is an experience I had when I was about 12 years old. About a quarter of a mile away from our home lived a close friend. Occasionally, after dinner we would walk, or run over to each others house to play for a short time. The way to my friends place was past both neighbouring houses and also some paddocks where some horses occasionally grazed. On this one occasion, after dinner, - and it must have been during the winter, because although it wasn’t late it was already fairly dark, -there was just sufficient light for me to see a short distance in front of me. So I set off for my friends place. Being young and energetic I decided to run. The footpath was downhill most of the way, and soon I was gathering speed. Soon I was moving at quite a pace, when all of a sudden, out of the darkness, right in front of me there loomed this horses head and neck leaning over the fence. With a sense of shock and an amazingly quick reaction I ducked down and swerved at the same time, just missing a head to head collision. The fright slowed me down considerably, and I felt quite shaken with the experience. I thought afterwards, “Why didn’t I take a torch?” If I had a torch I would have seen the horse leaning over the fence a long time before I even got near it! A more tragic accident happened not that long ago in the Hunua Ranges when a young runner, not having sufficient light to illuminate the track he was running on plunged over a sheer drop and fell to his death on the rocks below. Both incidents, one of which just resulted in a frantic scare while the other ended in tragedy, would have been averted if we had simply used a torch to show the way! - if there had been some illumination of the way ahead. It occurs to me that this could well be an illustration of how many people live their lives – and that may even include ourselves. We race through life, often quite blindly, without thinking of the consequences of our actions just up ahead. If we had some “torch”, some light shed across our path, we could well avoid most of the moral and relational disasters and tragedies which otherwise happen in our lives. This morning, as we follow through Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus, we come to chapter 5 where he now draws our attention to the implications of being a follower of Jesus Christ. And there are implications! We cannot claim to be a Christ follower if we don’t, in fact, follow what He says, how we should conduct ourselves, how we should relate to others, and the kind of life we live. And that means that there are ethical and moral implications for being a Christ follower. St. Paul names just three of the moral issues which the church in his day faced – and they are still relevant and real issues in the church today! In Ch.5; verse 3 , he says “Since you are God’s dear people, it is not right than any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you. Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane or vulgar.” Vs.5 “You may be sure that no one who is immoral, indecent, or greedy (for greed is a form of idolatry) will ever receive a share in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Sexual immorality, profane language and greed are all around us today – as they were 2000 years ago. Paul says - “It is not right that any of these things should even be mentioned among you.!” In other words – It is unthinkable that Christ followers would indulge in such things. – it’s like calling black/white! Yet we know it happens, and Christians are often guilty of all of the sins in the book, as much as anyone else. Yet Paul is saying – that’s not the standard we were called to live by. We have a higher standard, - it wont be the standard of the world but it WILL be the one that God has given us – and its for our own benefit, as well as for the society we live in! Greed and covetousness were sins which Christians in the first century struggled with. I think we probably all struggle with those same ones still today. Sexual immorality is all around us, and Christians struggle with that today, as they did then, and how to live a life that is free from that compulsion. We live in a world where profanity and obscene language is common – not just in books but on radio and tv! And Christians too, can easily be caught up in that! But the Good News for us today is that in the midst of that darkness – which otherwise leads to self-destruction – there is a light which we can take with us, and will show up those potential dangers. That light is in the person of Jesus Christ! If we make the decision to follow and serve Him – and He is available for us, and wants to lead us – He is the light who will shine for us in the darkness and show up the danger or the potential tragic consequences of the directions we are headed in! And he will help us to change our direction. This desire to follow Jesus Christ and to become more like him is what we call the desire for holiness; its a desire to be freed from those sins which pull us back, weigh us down and cause us to stumble. It is a desire for a freedom in our lives – a freedom to do what God wants us to do, rather than to be kept a slave to our lower nature. God doesn’t want us to stumble blindly through life! – crashing into barriers and tripping over obstacles – damaging ourselves and others in the process! God calls us to live holy lives so that we will be spared the pain and anguish of sin, which otherwise takes hold of us so easily. It’s easy to talk about sin in generalities, but what about the particular sin that you struggle with today, and tomorrow, and the next day? What are you going to do about that? One of my daily Bible Reading notes has just started a series on the Seven Deadly sins, and while it may not be the most exciting or humorous topic to begin the day with, it is a reminder that this is a reality which I will face right throughout the day, - that sin will try and find a place to lodge and nest and multiply in my life, and I know that you will most likely have the same struggle as well. A newspaper once carried a news item about a hungry thief who grabbed some sausages at a meat market, only to find that they were part of a string fifteen feet long. Tripping over them, he was soon entangled and hindered in his getaway, and the police found him collapsed in a tangle of fresh sausages. So it is with sin; we always come away with more of it then we expected, and it tends to entangle us until it breaks us down. St. Paul says – “You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord’s people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light.: (5:8) How do we live like people who belong to the light? 1. Acknowledge sin for what it is! 2. Confess it for what it is, and 3. - ask Jesus Christ to draw you closer to Himself, and to help you get back on to the road called holiness. Let us pray: (The collect for Purity) Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
