Reflection on God's Word

IT'S TIME TO DECIDE WHO YOU REALLY ARE

by Tim Thomas

November 11, 2006

Ephesians 5:8-14

Let me begin with the story of the ugly duckling. Unfortunately, I can't remember the authorized version, so this is my version, with some of the details likely made up. It goes something like this: A mother duck came upon an egg one day. Knowing that the egg would not hatch unless someone took care of it, she decided to bring it to her nest. When the egg hatched, the baby which emerged did not look at all like a duckling. The mother duck did the best she could raising this baby along with all her other ducklings, teaching it to be the best duck it could be. But this poor baby had trouble walking like a duck, swimming like a duck, and quacking like a duck. She was always last in any duck activity, and eventually realized that she would have to get used to being the worst and last. Nonetheless, she felt loved by the mother duck, and enjoyed being around her brothers and sisters and duck friends.

One day, the ugly duckling looked up in the sky, and saw the most beautiful, powerful, majestic bird she had ever seen. Something in her came alive when she saw this bird flying overhead. It was an eagle. She longed to be like that bird, but realized that was an impossible dream, since not only was she just a duck, but not a very successful one at that. One day at the pond, when the wind was still and the water brilliantly reflective, she looked and saw her reflection in the water, and was astonished to see the amazing resemblance she bore to the majestic eagle she had seen earlier. Could it be true that the reason she had trouble doing duck things was that she was really an eagle, and was never meant to act like a duck? Even with reality staring her in the face, imagine how difficult it would be to go against her upbringing and training and even deny the identity that those around her assigned to her. If she truly embraced the idea that she was an eagle, how should she act differently? How would it affect her relationships? I imagine the thought of changing all she ever knew was a bit frightening. What would you do if you were the ugly duckling who realized that she was really an eagle? This is not simply a rhetorical question, because that ugly duckling is you!

That is what this passage from Ephesians 5 is about. The first verse in this passage, verse 8, frames the theme of this passage quite well. It gets right to the point. Before we had Jesus in our lives, we were darkness. Elsewhere it says we were held captives of Satan, and we were enemies of God (Colossians 1:21; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:1-5). Now that we are in Jesus, we are light. That is to say, we belong to God, and we are identified by His nature, which is light. He is Light. He is holy and righteous. I know that we are so aware of our weaknesses, failings, and yes, even how we sin from time to time. But I don't think we are in Kansas anymore, Toto -- to borrow a line from the Wizard of Oz! We are in a strange new world, this world of being united with Jesus. We are so used to seeing with our natural eyes that we are afraid to open our spiritual eyes. If we are to be people of faith, however, we need to embrace what the Bible says about us, and stop relying on only what our five senses tell us.

Notice that Paul frames this in the ultimate black and white. You only have two possible identities. You are either darkness or light. Which are you? Let's face it, most of you are reading this because you are people of faith. You have heard the Wonderful, Amazing News that Jesus, God's one and only Son, died for you. Then you put your faith in Him, so that you would have eternal life. That life begins right away, not once you die. You are given a new identity. I sometimes want to scream at my dear brothers and sisters -- in a loving manner, of course -- when they say that we're all just sinners. What's worse, everybody seems to nod and smile approvingly! WE ARE NOT ALL JUST SINNERS! We WERE sinners, to be sure. We still occasionally sin, that I believe we can agree on. But I am NOT a sinner. I am light. I am not darkness. I am light by virtue of God's action on my behalf, true. But I am light nonetheless. I am not destined to continue to sin. I am destined to be light, and each day I hope to be more like Jesus than I was the day before.

This issue of us being only darkness or light is potentially confusing to some of us. Think of it this way: everybody is a clay pot (with an opening in the front, perhaps, so we could serve as lanterns). This is what Paul said about himself in 2 Corinthians 4:7. Once we had no candle in us, so we were dark. But when we come into relationship with Jesus, He puts a lighted candle in us, and it shines out of us, causing us to be light to the world. Apart from the candle in us, we look pretty much like the pot we always were. I suppose if the candle burns long enough within us, we begin taking on the fragrance of the candle, and those looking upon us start thinking more about the candle in us than the hardened clay that contains the candle.

Jesus uses a similar analogy in Matthew 5 in the midst of His Sermon on the Mount. He says we are lanterns, and that no one in their right mind lights a lantern and then hides it so the light can't get to anyone. No, lighted lanterns are put in a prominent place so that the light that comes from them can be seen by those who need it.

Eagles are meant to soar, not to waddle and paddle and quack -- so start acting like an eagle! This is essentially what Paul says from the second part of verse 8 through verse 11. We are to find out what pleases the Lord, which is how we as children of the light are to live. Then do it! Live like an eagle, if that is what you truly are. And, come on, you KNOW it is -- I can look at you and see that you are an eagle (and surely Jesus sees it, too).

We need to get our thinking straight here. It's hard to live as something that you don't believe that you are. You will think you're a phony. But if you know that you are the real deal, then it's not a matter of pretending, it's a matter of practicing to be who you really are. I'll write that again for emphasis: IT'S NOT ABOUT PRETENDING TO BE SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT, IT'S A MATTER OF PRACTICING TO BE WHO YOU REALLY ARE. In this passage, the Apostle Paul encourages us to practice. This is not simply a way of tricking us into trying to be good. It's a way of getting us to be who we are.

Apparently, you can be something but not act like it, otherwise Paul would not have to exhort his readers to live in a certain way, because it would just come naturally. In fact, he spends a lot of time telling the Colossians that they have to choose to put off their old nature and put on the new. So, we are light, but need to realize and embrace our identity. We have to start acting out that identity. Our beliefs and actions form a positive feedback loop. That is, what we believe helps us to act in accordance with out beliefs, and when we act upon what we profess we believe, it has a way of reshaping and reinforcing our beliefs.

I don't know whether you've noticed this, but in these reflections, I have written a lot about our identity as followers of Jesus. This in part reflects a major theme running through the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians -- a theme which I had not discerned before beginning this study, and perhaps one which few, if any, commentators have noted. On a personal note, it probably also reflects a theme which the Lord, through this study, has been impressing on me. Perhaps it has been a theme that He has been working in me for many years preceding this study, and I am only now becoming aware of it. This issue of knowing who I really am "in Christ" sets me free from what I thought I was when I looked with mostly worldly eyes. Perhaps because of the way God made me -- my personality and other quirks -- it has seemed extremely valuable and important for me to learn to think differently about who I am. Perhaps it is universally true of all believers. That I am not sure of.

The section from the second part of verse 11 through verse 14 is not easy to understand, especially the first half. It begins by telling us to expose fruitless deeds of darkness, but then tells us not to talk about them. So are we to be "whistle blowers" and write exposes, or are we to keep our eyes, ears, and mouths shut? I think that this passage is not about being a "whistle blower" (though if you are in a situation where God is calling you to expose corruption, may God strengthen you for the fight), but rather about our light -- our words seasoned with peace and hope, our actions reflecting the love of Jesus for people -- shining into all the dark situations we pass through in this world. When we are exhibiting the light that God has given us, we impact all those we come in contact with. People become convicted of their dark deeds, without us even knowing anything specific about what these people are doing.

I do believe this passage warns us about propagating darkness by dwelling on it in our thoughts and words. I understand there is a balance to be maintained here. Surely there are many who have been abused by others, and we don't want them to have to hold that in and never tell anybody. We want their abusers to have to face up to their evil, receive just punishment, and potentially be redeemed by genuine transformation. Some knowledge that such evil exists is helpful to me as a parent, say, as I seek to protect my children from people who would do them harm. On the other hand, as we dwell on darkness and evil, we have a tendency to grow in fear, retreating in our faith rather than advancing. Dwelling on evil makes the devil seem big and God small. Too many thoughts of darkness will corrupt our souls. I personally find that I cannot watch many of the popular television shows that are crime dramas, because I feel "slimed". I am not trying to get you to implement my particular restrictions on your viewing habits, but if you have been sensing that these programs are tearing down your faith and your humanity -- your soul -- then applying the Apostle Paul's admonition in verse 12 to what you watch would be a good thing.

The quote in verse 14 is probably from Isaiah 60:1-2, or possibly Isaiah 29:16. Have you ever tried to paraphrase a verse from the Bible because you couldn't remember exactly how it went, but you wanted to communicate the idea, and somehow, the idea came out different than the actual verse? Well, that appears to be what Paul did here. He makes those of us with memory problems feel good, because when he tried to quote it he mangled it pretty thoroughly. In fact, scholars can't agree on what verse he was quoting because it is so mangled. (In Paul's defense, remember that at this point in time, the Bible had not been divided up into chapters and verses, and the printing press hadn't been invented yet, so Bibles didn't really exist, except as a collection of parchments).

In all fairness to Paul and for the sake of good scholarship, I did read one commentator who said that this quote was likely from a song or hymn that was well known among the Christians of the day. So perhaps my comment above about the "memory problem" -- at least for this verse -- wasn't true. There are many other examples in the New Testament where it would be applicable, however. If this particular commentator was correct about this being a popular worship song, it's pretty cool to recognize that we're not all that different today. People in letters and emails will often quote songs when the lyrics express the feelings or thoughts of the person writing to his or her friends. It's also cool because that would mean that whoever wrote this song originally got inspired by the words of Scripture (probably Isaiah 60:1-2) and translated them into singable lyrics that perhaps reveal a personal or fresh take on the particular inspirational passage.

That's what my friends Paul and Mary Lou Day do in many of the songs they write and sing (and what many great Christian songwriters do). In fact, it wasn't until this very day that I realized that one of my favorite songs of theirs is actually based on Ephesians 5:14, and not primarily on Isaiah 60 (though they inserted a heavy dose of Isaiah 60 in their song, to be sure). Paul and Mary Lou wrote another song based on Ephesians 3:18. I wonder if they like Ephesians as much as I do? Perhaps one day their music will be available for download off the web, but for now, you have to get their CD in person.

Since it seems clear to me that verse 14 is from Isaiah 60 verses 1 and 2 -- whether it was a poorly remembered quote, or an inspiration for a popular worship song of the day -- we should digress a moment and consider what Isaiah 60 actually says. These are among my favorite verses in the Old Testament, and Paul's quoting of it here tells us that I am not using bad theology when I interpret many Old Testament prophesies that were spoken about Israel -- especially the ones that seem not to have been fulfilled -- as if they were meant for the Church. In fact, at the end of the book of Revelations, we see that the Church is called the "new Jerusalem".

The passage in Isaiah 60 tells us that the glory of God is shining on the Church, and that we are to arise, and shine that glory everywhere. It will draw people from all nations to God. Kings will even come from afar to find the God who gives us that light. And perhaps one of the most exciting parts comes in verse 7 of Isaiah 60, where it says that all the flocks of Kedar will come, too. Kedar was the ancestor of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. Faisal Malick writes that he believes that there will be an ingathering of Muslims as they see the glory of God shining forth from us. May that be -- and may that happen soon!

I believe that ever since the Church was born on the day of Pentecost after Jesus's ascension into heaven (Acts 1 and 2), Isaiah 60 was describing the potential of each follower of Jesus. His light was indeed shining on them then and on us now, and our choice is whether we will arise, throw off the stupor -- from not embracing who we are in Christ and from being entangled in the cares of the world -- and shine. This verse is speaking, as well, of a great end-time harvest of souls. I do not know if we are there yet, but I do sincerely believe that if we will arise and shine, we will have an amazing impact on those trapped in darkness, and many will come to the Light. Together, let's step out in faith and be the eagles that we truly are!