Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Ephesians 5 and Psalm 14

¹ Follow God’s example … ² and live a life of love … ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

As in the days of the early Church, so too in our day. Emphasizing the love and grace of God (as has been done throughout Ephesians) can be misconstrued as God giving us a licence to behave however we like. But the truth is that God’s love does not lower His standards of holiness, it raises them. The holiness of God is not at odds with His love – it is an expression of His love; and His love, in turn, expresses His holiness. Our calling now, as disciples of Christ, is to imitate God’s love in holiness and His holiness in love.

Ephesians 5 makes it abundantly clear that sexual immorality, moral impurity and covetous greed can never be expressions of Godly love because they are expressions of selfishness. They’re forms of idolatry, really, with the self as the idol (v.5).

Whether in these specific areas of life or any other, a critically important test for Christians to apply in our everyday lives is whether our behaviour and speech properly reflect the light of Christ (v.8) and His selfless, self-giving love. Any time we’re doing what we feel like regardless of the Word of God or the example of Christ, we are exalting ourselves against the Lord and putting ourselves at the centre. That is neither loving nor holy – it is idolatrous.

Life application: Let’s heed the advice and warning of Ephesians 5 and focus today on living with the utmost care:

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.