For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8
Devotional Message
Paul doesn’t say you were in darkness but that “you were once darkness”—not surrounded by it but composed of it, defined by it, identified with it completely. Darkness wasn’t just your environment but your essence, the fundamental reality of who you were before Christ. But “now you are light in the Lord” announces equally radical transformation. Not that you have light or are walking toward light, but that you are light—your essential nature has changed from darkness to light through union with the Lord who is Light.
“Live as children of light” is the invitation that flows from this new identity. Children of light don’t strain to produce illumination they don’t possess—they simply live from what they are. When you’re light in the Lord, living as light isn’t pretending or performing but being yourself, allowing your true nature to shine without obstruction. This living includes “goodness, righteousness and truth” (the verse continues)—not as goals you’re pursuing but as natural expressions of who you’ve become.
The contemplative work is believing your identity has actually changed, not just your behavior or circumstances or religious affiliation. You’re not darkness trying to act like light or darkness working toward becoming light. You are light in the Lord—present tense, established reality, completed transformation. When you sin or fail, you’re acting against your nature, not from it. When darkness tempts you, you’re being invited to revert to what you’re not rather than to express what you are. The invitation is to live from your actual identity as light rather than from old identity as darkness that no longer defines you.
Let’s Pray
Lord, help me believe I am light in You—not darkness trying to become light but actually transformed from darkness to light. Teach me to live as a child of light, expressing my true nature rather than reverting to old identity that no longer defines me. When I sin or fail, remind me I’m acting against who I am, not from who I am. Let my light shine. Amen.
Thank you for making God and Man a part of your spiritual journey. Please check out the rest of our website and if you need further encouragement, we have a beautiful library of prayers for almost every occasion located here.
