Ephesians 5:8-10 tells us, “ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light . . .Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5
The Bible calls those who have received Jesus as their Saviour, the children of God, and the children of light. As children of light we should be showing that God is our Father.
But how do we show that God is our Father? What does the Bible say?
When we follow peace with all men others will see the Lord.
Matthew 5:9 tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
When everything is going wrong around us and we are the ones making peace, we are in a position where the Bible says that we will be called the children of God. We are in a position where people will see the Lord.
Jesus’ name is “The Prince of Peace”.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called . . . The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
But the peace the Bible speaks of is peace with holiness. It is not peace without it. Without it no man will see the Lord.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” Hebrews 12:14-15
The Bible tells us that Lot was just (II Peter 2.7-8). But, in Genesis we read that he chose to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. He called the men that lived there his brethren (Gen. 19.7). He doesn’t appear that he was living holy or “separated” unto the Lord. What kind of witness was he? No friends or neighbors came with him out of that city. When he went to get his daughters and sons-in-law they thought he was mocking. Strong’s Concordance says that this mocking means “to laugh outright (in merriment or scorn); by implication, to sport:—laugh, mock, play, make sport.” They thought he was just joking.
If we want to be the best witness for the Lord, we will do what He says to in His word.
Matthew 5:8 also tells us,“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” If Hebrews says that without holiness no man will see the Lord, maybe “no man” includes ourselves?
It is true that when we keep God’s commandments, He shows more of Himself to us.
Jesus says in John 14:21 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
If we want to be close to the Lord and see more of His working, we need to keep close to Him.
I Corinthians 10:31 tells us, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
When we live our lives where Jesus can be a part of everything we do, and we are living to His glory, then it seems like we are living a life separated to God.
By love we show our Father.
The Bible doesn’t just teach us to be separate. It doesn’t teach us to be like the priest and the Levite who walk on the other side of the road. You might also not get a lot of conflict going off your own way and by yourself, but the Bible teaches us to be like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and love others.
“ Jesus said unto him, . . .Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22: 37,39
According to the Bible one of the clearest testimonies that we are the children of God is that we love one another.
“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” I John 3:10-11
Manifest means MAN’IFEST, adjective [Latin manifestus.]
- Plain, open, clearly visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding; apparent; not obscure or difficult to be seen or understood. From the testimony, the truth we conceive to bemanifest”(Noah Webster, 1828 Dictionary)
‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45
Romans 12:14 also says, “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Ephesians 5:1-2
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” Colossians 3:12
We show our Father when we serve through one of His Churches.
One last way we show the Lord to the world, is through one of His Churches.
“ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16
What does this mean? Candlesticks are the Lord’s Churches (See Rev. 1:20), and a child of God is a candle. When we let our light shine, through one of the Lord’s Churches, then our Heavenly Father will get the most glory from our lives.
There is one word throughout the New Testament used for candlestick. And it is the type of candlestick used in the Jewish tabernacle in the book of Hebrews (Heb. 9:2). In the Old Testament Tabernacle, the Hebrew word from which our English candlestick is translated is “mĕnowrah”. It is a menorah. It is a candelabrum. It is something that holds many candles. It is used to light larger spaces.
The Lord commanded:
”Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
The more we think the day is approaching, the more we ought to be assembling together and exhorting one another.
I Thessalonians 5:4-9 tells us, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 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. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”
When Ravens Cry 