By Derek Maul
“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.” – Ephesians 5:8-10
A couple of days ago I went downstairs, early, to walk Scout Labradoodle, and something about the pre-dawn light caught my attention.
At first I thought it was the kitchen. We’re almost done with an epic remodel, and the emerging light made the space look cool. But then I realized it was a powerful illustration of the scripture I’d just been reading, and the scene reminded me of my daily commitment to live forward, intentionally meeting each new day as a child of the light.
I’m sure I’ve shared this before, but the idea bears repeating. Every day, when I wake up, the first thing I do is to read the scripture that comes with The Upper Room daily meditation.
I think about it during my walk, and I invite God to speak into the new day.
When I return, I make my way around the house to pull up the shades and open the blinds. What I’m doing, consciously and at the front of my mind, is to “Purposefully renew my commitment to the light.”
We are called to be witnesses to the love, the grace, the promise, and the light that characterizes God’s initiative in Jesus. But how can we do that with any effectiveness unless we make a deliberate decision, at the front end of each and every day, to live – intentionally – as children of light?
The practice of renewing our commitment the light – each new morning as we open the blinds – turns out to be a simple idea. Try it for a week, every day, and see how such a conscious awareness changes the trajectory of your life.
