Ephesians 4:17-32
With the Lord’s authority, I say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[d]Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[e] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
What Paul is telling us that we Christians should no longer live like the ungodly because they are hopelessly confused. So, without God we are beyond all hope, in despair, irredeemable, without hope, bemused, lost, or bewildered. To be honest that to me is a scary thought. Paul goes on to say that the ungodly are full of darkness. They are close-minded and their hearts are hard. This is the very reason we need to be mindful when witnessing to the ungodly. They don’t understand and they can and will be easily offended. We must be spiritual farmers and plant seeds when the time is right. We are spiritual warriors that need to be filled and prepared for the battle.
In verse 29, he tells us that everything we say should be good and helpful so that our words will be an encouragement to them who hear them. We must start to train ourselves to control our flesh. We live in a world where there is a lot of ungodly ways and silly things people do. Things that, yes do get you upset and annoyed. And yes, at times it is justified, but that shouldn’t change who we are. We never know who is watching or listening, but one thing is for sure, God is always listening. God looks at us as His children. He has a special love and affection for us. His love is Agape Love.
Agape love is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This Greek word, agápē, and variations of it are frequently found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers. *
For this, we should not let Him down. When we live as the ungodly, we actually bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit. We must remember, God has guaranteed us salvation on the day of redemption. We are His. He offers us eternal life in heaven with Him and for that, He does require us to live righteously. God sent His son Jesus and we as followers know why He came and we know what He taught. So there is no excuse for failure. For it is written that children of God do not go on sinning. Meaning we don’t live in sin. Now, this is way different than accidental sin, which when this occurs we obviously should repent immediately. As Christians we will sin, we will never be perfect, but we can decide not to sin, especially when we know that it is sin, then we must stop. The Lord understands the battle, the struggle. He knows your heart and if you are truly trying to overcome sin. It is a process, but with practice, you can be an overcomer.
The process of living as children of light is simple if you fill your life with Jesus daily and keep your mind focused on Him, seeking Him and His righteousness first in all things.
If we get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander and if we get rid of all the evil behavior and instead just be kind to one another, go do things out of the ordinary, show kindness for there are hundreds of opportunities for us every day. We have to forgive people just as God forgives us.
Pray for strangers, start conversations with people for you might be the only Bible they ever read. Do as God commanded and get rid of all our evil behaviors and let your light shine through your speech and actions…
Be Children of Light.
DEEP WATERS 
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