Love Light

Bible Passage: Ephesians 5:1–11

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”- Oscar Wilde

I like this quote. I think it’s a good reminder that you can copy someone or something, but to be great you must blaze your own trail. Creativity is close to God’s heart. He is the Creator after all. If you look at like and the world around us, imitation is really how most of us learn anything.

When we are born we can’t really control our body, right? Head flopping, arms waving…. Sometimes we have to put mittens on newborns so they don’t scratch themselves. And there is no balance. None.

But as we grow we learn to control our body in space. How? By copying the people around us. Eventually, we start to crawl because we want to get around. But we see everyone else walking around on 2 legs instead of 4. So, we start to give that a try. With those more mature people helping us, we learn how to balance and walk on our own.

It starts will imitation.

We’ve all done it. Sure maybe it was in a manual or youtube video, but we have all faked it until we made it. Moving forward sometimes means copying the people who did it before you. Soon you get your own take and style, which is fine once you have mastered the thing.

There is something that none of us are good at. That is following God perfectly. Never screwing up. No one has ever lived a perfect life right? Well, one Guy did. Jesus is the perfect example of what living completely for God looks like. So it makes sense that we should copy Jesus, right? Well, why don’t we just copy the Person Jesus imitated…

1. Imitate: Walking in Love

Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

When you are a kid you, usually, look up to mom and dad. So you try to be like them. That is why I can tell a lot about a person talking to their kids. Live a life filled with love.As children of God we should always be trying to imitate Father God. Where do we start?

Love. Love is a very popular thing in our culture. Love is used for everything and, therefore, emptied of all meaning. I love pizza, and I love my wife, and I love my friends. These are, hopefully, all different forms of love that are each expressed in unique and special ways. So, if we are to follow the example of Jesus Christ of a love filled life, what is that.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NLT

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Here is something I learned a long time ago. Replace the word love with your name. Are those statements true about you? Would those closest to you describe you like this?

2. Integrate: Pursue Holiness

Ephesians 5:3–5 NLT

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

Insert your vice here. In Ephesus, obscene stories, coarse joking and foolish talk were the things that were sneaking into the church. What is it now? The good news is that there is a cure. Thankfulness to God. Immoral, impure, and greedy people will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Why? Because none of these things are reflected in Jesus. None of these things are representative of a life lived in love. “Isn’t that kind of harsh?” Maybe this is a little more to the point.

2 Corinthians 6:14 NLT

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

3. Illuminate: Live in Light

Ephesians 5:6–8 NLT

Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

I love that last part. “Live as people of the light.” John in his gospel tells us the nature of the light that comes from Jesus

John 1:5 NLT

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

4. Inspire: Bear Good Fruit

Ephesians 5:9–11 NLT

For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

We are very much like trees. Specifically, fruit trees. The thing about fruit trees is that they produce the kind of fruit that they are. Apple trees produce apples, orange trees produce oranges, the can’t produce something they are not.

This is true of us as well. The fruit of our lives will always tell what is going on inside us. If a tree is sick, it will not produce healthy fruit. And a dead tree will not produce anything.

Galatians 5:19–23 NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

As children of God through Jesus we are called to live in the light, not in the darkness. This is why what we do and say is so important. There was a day when we as believers were told to not be weird and fit in. Those days are gone. We are called to be a pure reflection of the light of Jesus to the world. The world will not like us for doing that. What did they do to Jesus? Why should we expect anything different. We are called to be imitators of God. To love and live like Jesus. That means we are going to have to make some waves and rock some boats all the time knowing that Jesus is walking towards.