Children of Light

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Putting off the old self…

Change isn’t an easy thing, and even as Christians we tend to be stubborn and return to our old ways of thinking and behaving when we are feeling vulnerable or pressure is building up. We are all trapped in the flesh, and even though we have been saved, our new nature is in constant conflict with our old nature in search of pleasing God. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a daily conscious commitment that comes as a result of the desire to live close to Jesus and have His life rub off on us so that we can experience qualities of love, joy, peace, and patience when we are tempted. Because of Jesus, our thinking has changed and the thoughts and deceptive desires that seep into our heart have been made new! We must put on the new nature, head in a new direction, and experience a new way of thinking!

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like Him” (Colossians 3:10)

Putting on the new self…

Regardless of circumstances that get in our way, we only need to think about how turning on a light can bring change to the attitude of our minds in any miserable situation. We need to open our eyes and make necessary changes in our hearts to allow God’s light to brightly shine. He said that we are the light of the world, so we better keep our attitudes and words in check and do our best to make sure our light is shining! As Christians, our purpose in life is to put on our new self and push back the darkness around us by allowing God’s light to brilliantly shine through us. Romans 12:2 says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and a large part of the transformational experience means that we have to replace our old attitudes with new attitudes that are based upon His word. We must choose joy over depression, love over bitterness and light over darkness. God gives us His light freely, and His light shines through our approaches, words, and deeds. Our responsibility as Christians is to have lives so transformed by His presence that everyone can see His light shining through our acts of kindness, patience, understanding and love.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1)

Our old way of life is completely in the past, and we have the possibility of doing something entirely different and living a different kind of life because we have been renewed by the attitudes of our minds. Our new self is in the likeness of God, and we should put on our new nature and let it brightly shine for everyone to see!

Linking up this week with Spiritual Sundays, Winsome Wednesday, and A Sheltering Tree