Walk

Ephesians 5:8-10 (ESV)

"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),

and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord."

Walk. The word denotes motion, activity, moving from one place to another. I am fascinated by the number of times it is used in the book of Ephesians. (English Standard Version) Some translations use the word "live". Also an action verb. 

How are you living or walking?

"Walk as children of light." We have a choice. We can either follow the course of this world or we can follow the path that God has prepared for us to walk. As children of God's grace, mercy, and promise, our walk should be one of light. Moving ever closer to the source of light and acting more and more like Jesus and following His teachings in the Bible. Our walk should be characterized by what is good, right, true, and pleasing to Him. We should not be afraid to have our actions or words illuminated by His light and we should not be sitting still.

We all pick a path either purposefully or inadvertently. There are only two paths on which to walk. Actually, to not make a choice is to make a choice for the course of this world or to walk in darkness. Ephesians chapter 2 clearly points out that by nature we were "children of wrath" and "sons of disobedience". We once lived for ourselves and the passions of our flesh. 

Once we accept God's gift of grace through His Son, Jesus, we come into the light and discover a new path. A path illuminated by Jesus who is our light. We learn to walk a new way. God's way. It is a narrow path and not always smooth, but He promises to be with us and guide us. 

Ephesians 5:15

"Look carefully then how you walk,

not as unwise but as wise."

Hold On

This dragonfly fascinated me. If you look closely at the photo, you can tell that it was a windy day by the double images of the green blades. He was a tenacious dragonfly who kept holding on to the tip top of that blade even though the winds were blowing all around him.

This reminded me of the passage in Ephesians 4 where it speaks of our growing in the knowledge of the Son of God so that we won't be children any longer and won't be "blown here and there by every wind of teaching". It is so important to know what the Bible says and to keep holding on to the truth that is contained within it. 

However, if we do not read The Word of God on a regular basis and listen to Godly, Biblical teaching, we can easily be tossed back and forth and here and there by all the teachings that sound good or make us more comfortable or politically correct. In order to stand firm amidst the changing currents and winds in our world, we need the firm foundation of the truth that is only God-given. 

Ephesians 4:11-16

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.