* Children of Light

For you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 

Walk as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8

This light is revealed in all goodness, righteousness and truth. 

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.  Ephesians 5:9-10

This is what others should witness in us and be guided by as an example. Each of these three terms covers a different aspect of our witness.

¨     Goodness -

According to the bible, goodness is depicted as a versatile and strong word that can be used either of the act or the intention motivating the act. It can be gentle or sharp, but the intention of the good person is always the well-being of the recipients of his goodness. An English word that covers some aspects of the Greek word is "benevolence." This "inclination to do good" certainly appears to be Apostle Paul's intent:

for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  Ephesians 5:9

As believers of God, we should endeavor to promote the well-being of all those around us. We should not be selfish or self-centered; selfish instead of selfless, and because we have this balance, we should desire that others have it too. This is the way of God. God looks upon us in our misery; the result of sin, and in His goodness leads us to repentance. Sometimes the path to repentance for us is sharp and painful, but it is always good.

On the more gentle side, God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust": 

so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  Matthew 5:45 

Although men are evil, God does this kindness out of His goodness. In the converted, those of us who have truly accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we see a pale reflection of this goodness. The true believers are those who think about love, beauty and truth—not just in the realm of majestic mountains, surging seas, gorgeous flowers and sunsets, but more specifically in our fellow man. We want to alleviate suffering and to mitigate wrongs. We consciously look for ways to benefit others. Because we are not out to gratify our self, our works are the opposite of the self-centered works of darkness. 

Sometimes we find it difficult to relate to the level of conduct Jesus displayed in His life. We justify our behavior on the basis that He was God in the flesh, but when we search God's word elsewhere, we find mere humans setting very high standards of goodness under very trying circumstances. One such person was Joseph.

Joseph could have become bitter,  

"But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."   Genesis 39:21

God did not abandon Joseph because he was in prison, and Joseph did not abandon God nor cease doing good in his humiliating circumstance. He diligently served his captors and his fellow inmates. It was Joseph who noticed and inquired of the sadness masking the faces of the baker and butler 

And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.  And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?  Genesis 40:6-7 

His mind was not on himself but on the good of others. His is a wonderful example of what godly goodness produces.

The Lord is with us too, regardless of our circumstances, and the same Spirit that was with Joseph, God Almighty in heaven, is in us. How many times have we had an impulse to do some good and stifled it by giving ourselves some "good" reason why we should not? 

Do not quench the Spirit,  1 Thessalonians 5:19

Goodness is a fruit of the spirit and it is something we must devote ourselves to. We must cultivate it because, coming out of this present evil world, we have not been schooled in doing good. Unfortunately, most often it is not part of our character. We have been schooled in entitlement and being self-centered.  However, self-centered people cannot do godly good.  But, if we are to be in our Heavenly Father's likeness, we must master goodness.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord because He, as our Heavenly Father, is good:

The LORD promotes equity and justice; the LORD's faithfulness extends throughout the earth.  Psalm 33:5

He is bringing us back to His image and drawing out of us His own goodness to witness that He is our God and to make us ready for His Kingdom. He has given gifts to all of His children to serve Him and His church. We need to take every opportunity to yield to His Spirit for this purpose and labor to develop the goodness that is its fruit.

Do you consider yourself a good person? Do your actions appear good to others? Does your attitude support your "good" image? Is goodness produced in your life? 

God is good in His very being. 

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Luke 18:19

This is not to say that human beings cannot be good in a limited way. 

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, And to those who are upright in their hearts. Psalm 125:4

So, obviously a person can be good. But, we certainly want to know how?

We, as God's people, are not good in and of ourselves in the way in which God is good. With God's help we have the potential for doing good and being good through the empowerment of His Holy Spirit.  With the presence of God in our lives through Jesus Christ we can attain this attribute. In this way, we are able to reflect God's goodness in our own lives and not just have it as the surface appearance that so many have.

Goodness is an admired quality that radiates many virtues. It is reliable, kind, and genuine. It is excellence of character, morality and attitude seen in a person's behavior.

Goodness takes a lot of work with the right attitude. Prayer, praise, Bible study, as well as service and support for the church of God (the Body of Christ) are some of the things that constitute the work that God expects in order for us to be counted worthy of this calling. 

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.   2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Goodness signifies an energized excellence of character that manifests itself in active good. That word 'active' is a keyword. It differs from kindness in that it is a more openly active fruit of the spirit. Goodness is more often directed toward those who do not deserve benevolence. It is enthusiastic action in doing the right thing——it is active righteousness.

¨     Righteousness -

Righteousness conveys legality. 

May my tongue sing about your instructions, for all your commands are just.  Psalms 119:172

This Psalm defines righteousness as keeping the commandments of God, thus righteousness implies conformity to law. It is a narrower term than either truth or goodness. It indicates uprightness and a manifestation of justice; right standing before God. It can literally mean being right. God uses the illustration of a plumbline which is defined as 

[A cord weighted with lead that is used in building to check that vertical structures are true. It is used symbolically to refer to the divine standard against which God, the builder of his people, tests and judges them. It also symbolises the standards by which God will rebuild his people.] 

to portray what He means by righteousness: 

And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:  Amos 7:8

The believer who is righteous has been measured against the standard of God's law and found to be in alignment. Therefore righteousness should be a characteristic of the believer. He is fair and just in his dealings with others, plays life by the rules and respects others' rights and possessions.

¨     Truth - 

Apostle Paul speaks of deceit; those things done in secret and the hidden things of darkness. 'All truth' is their opposite. The character of the life of the believer is without deceit. Nothing is hidden, underhanded or dishonest; nothing smacks of hypocrisy or pretense. The life of those walking in light is open, above board and transparent; it has nothing to conceal and never pretends to be something that it is not.

Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God's wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6

We cannot be good, righteous or truthful in accordance with God without there being something produced - Children of  Light!

(Biblical Studies)





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