By: Carl Holland
Carl's Words of Inspiration
Ephesians 5:8 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”
Remember science class back in elementary school (or maybe it was middle school, it was too long ago for me to remember exactly when) learning about prisms and their interaction with light waves? They have a pretty cool effect where they bend the light passing through them and break it into the rainbow of colors that make up the light spectrum. The light coming out doesn’t look like the light going in. Mirrors, on the other hand, simply reflect the light that hits them right back without changing it. In 1 John 1:5 we read,
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
We are to walk as children of light, and God is that light. We must be careful, then, that it is God’s light that shines forth, not our own. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be followers, or imitators in most translations, of God. We can’t be God. Trying to be equal to God is what got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden, as well as getting Lucifer booted from Heaven. God speaks quite well for Himself. He doesn’t need our opinion. When we try to inject our own thoughts or feelings or opinions into God’s word, we change it; distorting it and refracting it like a prism. Our words, our actions, our lifestyle, should all reflect the character of God, shining the light of Christ, not our own light, to a lost world. Brethren, are you a prism or a highly polished mirror? Being completely honest with yourself, are there some areas you can think of where you could use a little more polishing? I know I sure have some. Open yourself up to God’s instruction a little more, grow closer to Him day by day, and let him buff up that shine a little more. He doesn’t even need Windex.
