July 30, 2010 Wearing The Armor of Light

I never noticed before that the passage which says to "put on Christ" is the same passage that says to "put on the armor of light."  I think that's awesome!  In order to wear this armor, we have to put off the works of darkness.  These works are related to being asleep, as the world is.  When we're awake, we're walking in love, and this isn't compatible with the works of the flesh, which is the self-centeredness of the fallen nature.  Once we've awakened to the reality of our salvation, and we get dressed with the brilliant glory of Christ, what darkness can overcome us? 

Again, I'm struck with the prophetic vision of David.  He had a relationship with Christ even then, and understood the armor of light.  He had no need to fear when he found himself in a dark valley shadowed with evil, enemies, and death.  "Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever" takes on a deeper meaning when we understand that it's not necessary to get rid of our natural bodies in order to live in a divine tent of perpetual light that goes wherever we go. 

"You are with me" becomes a little more intimate when we're thinking of wearing Christ!  It also becomes more public.  There's no hiding our salvation or our relationship with the Savior when we're wearing the armor of light!  The days of "my faith is personal" (meaning "I don't share it with anyone") are over!  When you're dressed in light, can you help but be noticed by people who are in the dark?  They might be afraid and run away, but many will be drawn to the light that covers you.

Jesus lives in us by His Word and Spirit when we're born again.  But salvation has to be more than just an inner belief, as we have discussed earlier.  Having light than shines out from the inside and covers us from the outside is the only effective way to be a witness for Christ.  If you're dark, you stay hidden in darkness and nobody notices you.  Not to mention how Jesus feels about that!  The times we walk around incognito are basically times we're denying that we know Him.  I'm not saying we have to be religious about our witnessing!  I've known people who talked a lot about the Lord, but were essentially walking in darkness.  I've been there myself-- and as "easy" as it is to be asleep, being in the dark is torment when you're a child a God. 

The devil feeds on "dust" (Genesis 3:14) which is our self-nature; when we don't put off the works of darkness, he can get us even more entangled in webs of deception, addiction and bitterness than we were before we got "saved."  When he's prowling around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), he's looking for someone who's not defended, not wearing their armor of light.  When we're walking in love, and therefore in the light, we're well defended and have nothing to fear.

Putting our armor on is much more than a morning ritual!  Just declaring that we have put on our helmet of salvation, etc., isn't what gets us clothed in light!  It's waking up to what salvation really is, and making a command decision to leave the darkness behind.  It's called repentance.

We are the children of light!  The true light lives in us.  Christ's love is shiny and wonderfully resistant to attack.  Let's start a fashion trend and wear the light!  Shine, shine, shine!