What’s Your Role as a Light-Liver?

4th Sunday in Lent, 3/19/23 Ephesians 5:8-14 What’s Your Role as a Light-Liver? I. Bear light fruit. II. Expose the darkness. III. Share the light. What’s my purpose in life? I Googled that question a few days ago and received 4.4 billion results. Apparently, that question is on the minds of more people than I thought. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Because who hasn’t at one point or another in their lives wondered what they should be doing with their life? Who hasn’t felt like a hamster on an exercise wheel, just running in place and getting nowhere? Who hasn’t spent at least a few minutes evaluating what they’re currently doing and wondering if there’s something much bigger they were destined to do? And those questions are intricately woven into our personal identity. We tend to define who we are by what we do. “I’m a husband. I’m a father. I’m a grandfather. I’m a pastor.” But is that it? Is that all I’m meant to be doing? Today’s worship focus reminds us that we needed a Savior to bring us into spiritual light. That worship focus is found most explicitly in today’s Gospel, in which we have the account of Jesus giving physical sight to a man born blind, but also spiritual sight by bringing him to faith in Jesus as his Savior. Of the two, which is more important? Obviously spiritual sight is. Spiritual sight blesses us not only now in our life on earth but also eternally with life in heaven. This morning’s sermon text is from Ephesians 5, and in it Paul speaks to us about that very topic. We are people who came into this world in spiritual darkness. We were unbelievers, destined for hell. But now, by God’s grace, he has shared spiritual light with us, bringing us to faith. Paul then makes this practical application. “Live as children of the light.” And that’s much more than a suggestion. As an enlightened Christian, it’s your purpose and privilege. But just what does that mean? What does it look like? As a Christian living in that light, what’s your role? What’s your role as a light-liver? Let’s keep that question before us and see how Jesus answers it in these words from Ephesians 5. Part I. Are you able to go through the entire day without getting disgusted by the behavior of someone else? If so, you’re in the vast minority. Whether it’s the people you share the road with, your fellow classmates or teammates, the people you work with, the people you volunteer with, or the people you read about or hear about on your news feeds, we easily get disgusted by the behavior of others. But, have you ever wondered if others get disgusted with your behavior? Are they tired of your snarky comments, your unwillingness to get involved any further than you have to? Do they get disgusted when they hear your views on just about any subject under the sun? Is it possible people might even avoid you? That’s probably the case. But the Lord Jesus didn’t share his spiritual light with you so that you could be a source of aggravation to others. He shared his spiritual light with you so that you can live in the light. But what does that look like? Listen to these words of Paul, “Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” Your role as a light-liver is to bear light fruit—goodness, righteous, and truth. Let’s take a brief look at each one of those. When Paul encourages you to bear the fruit of goodness, he isn’t telling you to decide for yourself what’s good. He’s talking about what’s good in the eyes of God. He’s talking about everything that possesses genuine moral excellence. Genuine moral excellence. Desires, thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions that are holy. Your role is to produce goodness. The next fruit Paul encourages is righteousness. We live in a world in which people insist that their ideas, their opinions, and their way of doing things is right. That’s not what Paul is talking about. He’s speaking about a person’s ideas, opinions, and ways of doing things are in complete agreement with God’s standards of right and wrong. It’s rising above the moral decay in which our world operates and, instead, mimicking the way our holy God operates. Thirdly, Paul encourages us to produce the fruit of truth. Imagine that! In a world which insists that truth is relative, that my truth may not be your truth, Paul tells us that, as people who have been given spiritual light, our role is to bear the fruit of truth. In other words, God’s truth, which never changes. His truth is the divine reality and everything else is falsehood, which really doesn’t exist. So, what’ your role as a light-liver? To bear light fruit, namely, goodness, righteousness, and truth. Part II. There’s a philosophy of living that permeates our modern society, and that mindset insists that each individual has the right to live as they want, in any way that makes them happy, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. And a corollary to that thinking is that no one has the right to judge me. In other words, what might be wrong for you might be right for me. Live and let live. Well, how does that mindset square with someone like yourself, someone who is a light-liver? Listen to what Paul has to say, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible.” Paul does not espouse the “live and let live” lifestyle. Instead, he asserts that you as a light-liver have a role to fulfill and it might make you feel a little uncomfortable. He tells us to expose the deeds of darkness. Why not live and let live? Because the deeds of darkness are unfruitful. Really? But the world views those deeds as fulfilling, exciting, satisfying, even fun. That’s true. But it doesn’t negate the fact that deeds of darkness lead to death. The people who indulge in them are unaware that what they are doing is leading them further and further away from God and, ultimately, they will be thrown into outer darkness—eternal death without God. Paul enlists you and me as light-livers to call those deeds what they are. Fruitless. Death-dealers. Deeds that lead to eternal destruction, not happiness. But you know how difficult that is. It’s swimming against the tidal wave of our world’s immoral mindset. It’s so much easier to make accommodations, to adjust our way of thinking slightly and make our light-liver lifestyle a little more accommodating to deeds of darkness. It’s adopting the mindset that thinks, “Well, this is the way things are today. I realize such deeds used to be frowned on, but what can we do? It’s just the way things are.” That’s a slippery slope! What’s the next dark deed you’ll accommodate? Instead, take up the role your Lord has given you. Live in the light and expose the darkness. Part III. Speaking of deeds of darkness, who of us wouldn’t like to see our world change for the better, for good to overcome evil, at least to begin to do so? Any progress in the direction of goodness would thrill us. But just a change in behavior among the people of our world isn’t going to solve the problem of evil in the long run. What’s needed is not a change of behavior, but a change of heart. And that’s what Paul is speaking about when he quotes what seems to be an ancient Christian hymn, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” These words are a call for people to come to spiritual life. “Wake up, sleeper!” That happens when the Holy Spirit works faith in their hearts through the word and the sacraments. His working in them brings them from spiritual death to spiritual life. But what’s our role in that life-creating process? It’s sharing the saving good new of Jesus with them. Think about it. What can you tell a person that will do the most good for them? Isn’t it the message of a Savior from sin, Jesus Christ? That’s a truth that will bless them now and forever. As the Holy Spirit works through the words that you speak to them, they become your sister and brother in Christ. They become members of God’s kingdom with you. Their names are written in the book of life just as yours is. Your God uses you to accomplish his saving work in others. What’s your role as a light-liver? It’s sharing the light. We’ve talked about three roles you have as a light-liver: bearing light fruit, exposing darkness, and sharing the light. How comfortable are you doing any of them, let alone all three? Let’s admit it, it’s daunting. In fact, we’d rather think about doing something else, anything else. But that’s not unusual. God’s prophets felt that way, men like Jonah and Isaiah. Jesus’ own disciples felt that way. After the crucifixion of Jesus, they cowered in fear over their connection to Christ. So why doesn’t our God accommodate our fears? Why doesn’t he modify our roles? Because what’s he’s doing now works. He fills his people with confidence over their forgiveness in Christ. He causes them to see the power of Jesus’ resurrection in their lives. He fills us with confidence even in the face of death. You and I are living, breathing examples that the power of Christ has changed us in miraculous ways. And now he gives us the privilege of being his instruments to work in others. That’s our role as followers of Christ. Look opportunities in the week ahead for your Lord to use you, and then watch him bless your efforts. Amen.