Life: Exposed to the Light

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

Back before the world went digital, we actually took pictures and went to have our photographs processed. When you picked up your pictures, you were given two products: the photos and the negatives from which future copies of your pictures could be printed. Have you ever looked closely at a negative? It is creepy. People and places are distorted in a fashion that sometimes makes the subject barely recognizable.

Today's reading is Ephesians 5. Chock full of practical application, this chapter addresses a variety of topics from Christian marriage to time management. I am awestruck this morning by how "powerful and effective" the word of God really is. For truly, if I just grasped and applied this one passage of scripture, it is a certainty that my life would be completely transformed.

Smack dab in the middle of this passage are seven verses that call Christians out of darkness and into the light. Jesus knows first hand the danger of dwelling in darkness. He physically bore the outcome of every deed shadowed by man's withdrawal from God. The most unmentionable acts are performed under the veil of secrecy - rape, murder, incest, molestation, sexual perversion. Then again so are more tolerable sins - overeating, gossip, bigotry, unforgiveness.

I have yet to encounter a Christian who has a sign posted in his front yard announcing those secret sins that he has yet to confess, repent from or seek someone's forgiveness for. Why? It is easier to rewrite history than to admit our wrongs with humility. Is is more convenient to ignore issues and pretend there will be no consequences than to deal with our actions with integrity before God. Hidden sin distorts, deceives and destroys.

I don't understand everything about classical photography. What I do know is this. Film cannot be developed without exposure to the light. If I truly desire to be like Jesus, I have to pull out my stuff and shine His light on my darkness. "Everything exposed by the light becomes visible." (Verse 13) It is only when my sin is visible that is can be dealt with.

Jesus, I desire a clean heart before You. I do not want my relationships or reputation to be distorted by hidden sin. I want to look like You, not a warped "negative" of you that barely resembles the subject. I know this is only possible through honesty and humility. Today help me take my secrets out of the closet of my heart and expose them to the light of Your forgiveness and love.