For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
Ephesians 5:12-14a [ESV]
Only 30 more hours or so before we head off to Mexico on our Middle School Missions trip. 85 of us are going! Sophie and I are super excited, but we are also a bit nervous about missing Marianne, Bella, Prim, and Brooklyn. We are all so close and love the time we have together. Even though all of us love and support going on the Mission Field, it is still hard to be away.
The Greek word aischros (shameful) describes behavior and actions that, when weighed morally, are unacceptable to speak about and which bring dishonor on those tied to them. That judgment may not be something that exists among those who practice these things, but it is how God sees it, and that is what matters for us as believers.
Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
Isaiah 29:15 [ESV]
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
In Romans 13:13, Paul says, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.” The things Paul calls out in Romans, I believe are the things that he is talking about here about ‘living in the light’. This activity is so shameful that it should be avoided and should not be attached to any follower of Jesus. As yesterday’s verse noted, these actions are not to be ignored but exposed, because they are damaging to people. It is the light that does the exposing. Paul states this Light as a principle of the activity of the Holy Spirit. Light reveals evil so it works to bring good. It also shows things for what they are, without any obscurity. With the exposure also comes the opportunity for a change in direction.
Application:
I have to ask myself – What in my life right now could be something considered ‘done in secret’? I am confident in saying that orgies, drunkenness (have not participated in alcoholic drinking in almost 10 years), sexual immorality, sensuality, or…wait a minute…I have quarreled and even coveted in secret. Paul calls these out as part of the list. The Greek word for ‘quarrelling’ is eris which can also mean strife. The word for jealousy is zēlos which can also mean fury or zeal. I will say that I have, in the quiet of my own mind harbored strife of over issues with another person or even jealousy over something someone else had that I did not. It is super convicting that these 2 things are counted alongside sexual immorality and drunkenness. Light being in all areas of the our personal house, is paramount to the godly life Paul is calling the Ephesians to in this short passage.
Today’s Psalm:
I said, “Behold, I have come;
Psalms 40:7-8 [ESV]
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”