17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. – Ephesians 4:17 – 19

Our world is a mess of blinding lights. This world distracts us, pulls us in, and promises us a future of fulfilment. But it does not deliver, and we are left in overwhelming darkness, unsatisfied. We are victims of our own selfish, human hearts, telling ourselves we can cure our own desires, or that our selfish desires are good. If we let ourselves be consumed by this greed, our hearts harden, and we become ignorant of the truth.

God is the only one who can quench our thirst, and the great news is that he does! In this passage, God, through Paul, is calling us to step away from the darkness. He does not want us to remain in the vortex of impurity and greed—indeed, he insists that we do not. He wants us to walk by his side where we can experience the same love that sacrificed his only Son, the same love that raised Jesus up from the dead, the same love that will never falter and never fail. Paul does not wish for us to forsake our world entirely, but he does compel us to be mindful of the world’s hold on us.

Rejoice in God’s strength in your moments of weakness, and cling to him, for he will carry you from the darkness into the light of salvation.

Prayer: Our Father, Sorry for the times I cling on to my old ways of thinking and living. Please transform me to be filled with your vision instead. Amen.

Maddie Pryde – Living Church, Creek Road