09/05/202
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
"Follow the Leader Away from Darkness and Into the Light"
Have you ever walked into a room that had bad lighting? That is one of the first things you notice. In a previous house we added two light bulbs to our bathroom lamp which was supposed to hold four light bulbs. Since having moved into the house nine months earlier, we had been running the fixture with only the two middle lights. What a difference it made when we put the two end lights in. It was like being in full sunlight.
The children of light and the children of darkness analogy is one of my favorites. It so clearly illustrates how we are to be different than those who do not know God.
Ephesians 5:7-8
Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Isaiah 55:6-9
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
In this world, we are placed right alongside people who do not know God. They are children of darkness. They would rather be in darkness than come to God for light. These kinds of people can actually dim our light if we are not careful. The problem is that others will notice that our light is dimming but we may not. It will be difficult for us to notice it, just as we don't notice a poorly lit room after being in it for awhile. But if we evaluate our lives in the light of our Lord, it will become clear that we are not what we should be.
We cannot judge ourselves by the standards of this world. After all,
this world is in darkness! We must compare ourselves to the Lord's measure, and we will see just how far we are from living the way that He wants us to. We must follow our Lord and His light, not the darkness of this world.
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
