LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD Part 5 Walking in the Light

How do we keep from looking back like Lot’s wife and avoid being a Lot that regrettably runs to the nearest place where we can save ourselves, rather than go forward into a new life, trusting the Lord with both the change and the path He has set out for us? How many of us right now desire a different existence but would still cling to the past because that is all we know? Jesus said if we put our hand to the plow and look back, we are not worthy to be His disciples (Genesis 19:1-14,26; Luke 9:62; 17:32).

There are very few people I have met that are satisfied with their life. I try to take note of why they are satisfied amid the trying circumstances and events of the world. When we are young, we are busy pursuing what we think will bring satisfaction with great hope and expectation. Our ideas of satisfaction are wrapped up with our ideas of happiness and success, and we are too busy trying to grab at life to even consider whether we are satisfied or empty. We convince ourselves that if we are not content that all we need to do is keep pushing ahead because surely over the next mountain and around the next bend we will find our paradise, our source of happiness.

This attitude is not new, and Solomon clearly expressed it in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is for this reason that he stated up front his conclusion in his search for meaning and purpose in the flesh and the world is that all is vanity and will do nothing more than cause vexation of spirit in the end. Of course, I must admit that when we are young, full of zealous enthusiasm about taking the world by storm, we are not prepared to concede to such a reality. Whether it is chasing the American dream, fulfilling great aspirations, or emptying our “bucket wish,” satisfaction will never come from being successful at gaining the world, but rather from developing an attitude that is based on gratitude. It is gratitude for what we have that allows us to learn contentment (Ecclesiastes 1:3-4; 2:26; Philippians 4:11).

As we get older, we realize that satisfaction is not tied up in what we accomplish but what we value. Unknowingly we pursue what we value because where our treasure is, that is where we will find the focus and attractions of the heart. Do we value the ways of the flesh, the ways of the world, or the ways of God? The flesh leads us to ruination, and the world leads us to destruction. The first two ways have no promise or future attached to them. There is only one way that leads to hope, life and eternity and that is God’s ways. Since Jesus is our standard and example of what is righteous, He plainly stated, “I AM THE WAY” (Isaiah 55:8-9; Matthew 6:21; John 14:6).

The problem with many religious people is that they have a concept of right and wrong, but they have no vision and understanding as to what it means to stay the right course. Staying the course involves holding the line of righteousness and becoming that plumbline that will not move from the immutable standards of the Rock of Ages (Proverbs 29:18; Amos 7:7-8).

There are many routes that veer off the path of righteousness. Some of them appear quite religious and others seem decent or noble enough, but each detour takes one away from what is important to God. Once you veer from the right path, you will lose sight of your focus and destination.

When it comes to the unseen matters of life, it is not a matter of doing what seems religious, noble, and decent enough; rather, it comes down to having an upright relationship with the Lord that manifests itself in simply doing what is right because it is the honorable thing to do in the sight of the Lord. We do not do right because we are trying to earn some merits; rather, we do what is right because it is our way of honoring the Lord (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:23-25).

“Honoring” someone means preferring that person over yourself. Another word for such “honor” is love, a devoted, sincere love that can’t do enough to honor, prefer, or regard the one you love. In fact, to show love to each other as believers involves submitting to each other out of the fear of the Lord and preferring the other over ourselves. Remember we confirm we are the Lord’s disciples because we have godly love towards one another (John 13:35; Romans 12: 9-10; 1 Corinthians 7:3; Ephesians 5:21-33).

Admittedly, I have met many people who call themselves Christians, but they have no love for others, genuine concern for souls, or an incredible appreciation towards the Lord for His great work of salvation on their behalf. God’s love is not petty, judgmental, indifferent, and critical of anything that does not meet with religious, unrealistic standards (1 Corinthians 13:1-8). These judgmental standards make the most pious person a hypocrite that preaches and judges much but never can adhere to such standards themselves.

The world’s religions have presented much of Christianity like a maze that you must walk through. You may hit walls of doctrines, certain traditions and practices, terms, and associations that keep you from advancing forward (Matthew 15:1-9; Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6). We must not forget the ceiling established by politics that keeps you from rising above the maze to gain a different perspective. It is all about the religious code established by the leader or leadership that can at times prove to be tyrannical, but there is no life or hope in any of it. In fact, I have met people who are hedged in by the religious maze. They are miserable, judgmental, unloving and fearful. They are striving to be perfect according to their religious ideas or the demand of their cult leader who strives to control their every thought, move, and activity. Such people are blind as to how unobtainable the ideas are or how godless, unloving, confusing and perverted their practices and ways are.

Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the religious leaders found in their doctrine (Mark 8:15). “Leaven” points to a mixture that will in the end corrupt everything. According to John 7:16-17, Jesus stated that we will know if a doctrine is of God by doing the will of God. The whole purpose of being here is to do the will of God. When you understand the will of God, you will understand the ways of God. By understanding and believing the ways of God, you will be doing the will of God because your actions, conduct, and ways will line up to His righteous ways. Ultimately, such individuals will bring glory to the Lord.

To promote “doctrine” in lieu of knowledge alone is improper. Doctrine is about acceptable conduct, not declaring some creed as to what you believe. True faith believes a matter is truth because it is based on the teachings, ways, and principles of God. Principles have to do with the spirit in which you walk out your life (Romans 8:2; 10:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7)

Spiritual darkness becomes the light to the people in spiritual darkness. They are blind but do not know it because they have become accustomed to the darkness. They end up groping in it and become frustrated. This frustration turns into anger, then condemnation and finally unbelief (Isaiah 59:10; Matthew 6:22-23; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6).

To leave the past behind we often need to be delivered out of the mazes we are in. This means we must recognize if we are in such a maze. We will hit walls until the light comes on to reveal the way out of it. We know that the Light is Jesus Christ. As the light of the world, He parted the darkness. His light is the only light that can lead captives out of the maze back into the light to experience its warmth that comes from love, its ways that are found in life, and its promise of eternal bliss (John 1:7-11; 9:4-5).

His light comes through various avenues such as the Word. His teachings can be seen in the darkness. His ways and examples highlight the righteous path, and His Spirit illuminates the way out of and through the mazes. We must follow after the Spirit as we learn what it means to truly deny ourselves and pick up the cross to follow Jesus into a new life (Psalm 119:105; Matthew 16:24-26; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30).

The Apostle Paul points out what it means to walk in the light. One of the things he points out is how the Christian life is our vocation in Ephesians 4:1. The Christian life is summarized by the eternal life of Christ in us. The Apostle Paul summarized it best in Acts 17:28, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” To walk in this new life needs to be our profession. We are told to occupy until He comes as a means to keep our edge (Luke 19:13). The Apostle Paul reminded the Thessalonians that they used to be children of darkness but now they are children of the Light and they need to walk in that light (1 Thessalonians 5:2-5).

It is the light that keeps us awake as to what is going on around us. The Apostle Paul stated this in Ephesians 5:14-15, “Where he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light, See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:7-8 he stated, “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.” And as we learn from the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, it is in the night that many slumber in assumptions about the time, their state, and if they have enough religion and enough of the oil of the Holy Spirit to endure the darkness. But to ensure they have enough of the Spirit, they must be filled with this oil on a continual basis (Matthew 24:44-51; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 1:8-9).

Since our faith walk is our lifetime career, we must gear everything towards ensuring that we maintain the integrity of the calling attached to it. Walking in the light of who God is and His Word is a discipline that we must not ignore or neglect. Walking in the light keeps us sharp and allows us to maintain our walk. Maintenance in all matters is necessary and important to ensure the value of something. It is not unusual to be excited over something new, but to maintain it is where many drop the ball. May I remind you that the opposite of maintenance is neglect. Hebrews 2:3 warns us not to neglect our salvation.

How many of us are neglecting our life in Christ? We so loved what the newness of the Christian life brings to us in our initial born-again experiences, but after the new wears off, that is when we can begin to take it for granted. Once we assume that the Christian life is a done deal, then we can begin to neglect it, but the Bible is clear that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). It is also clear that godliness is about disciplining our steps with obedience, tempering our walk with faith, and staying in the light of Christ to avoid getting caught in some maze designed by the god of this world, Satan.