“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way” (Ephesians 4:17-20).
I heard a definition of the contrast between infatuation and love. It says, "Infatuation is when you think your husband is as handsome as Tom Cruise, as amusing as Rodney Dangerfield, as intellectual as Albert Einstein, as devout as Billy Graham, and as athletic as Hulk Hogan." That is infatuation. "Love is realizing that your husband is as handsome as Albert Einstein, as intellectual as Hulk Hogan, as devout as Tom Cruise, as athletic as Rodney Dangerfield, and as amusing as Billy Graham. But you love him anyway." You see, there’s a big difference between infatuation and love.
We live in a world full of such contrasts: black and white, positive and negative, north and south. In this passage, the apostle Paul discusses some of the starkest contrasts that should affect our walk with Him.
The first contrast is the distinction between Jew and Gentile. Under the Old Testament, there was no greater distinction than being a covenant Jew and a Gentile. God told Abraham rather clearly in Genesis 17 that those without circumcision, the sign of the covenant, we cut off from being a people before Him. Today, being His child is not limited to those being a Jew outwardly, but one inwardly having the circumcision made without hands. Therefore if we are of the spiritual nation of Israel, that is a Christian, we are not to “walk” like the ungodly. Their unrighteous ways are a result from being alienated from God because of sin. Without an intimate knowledge of God, they were subject to their own hardness of hard. But we, therefore, are able to approach the throne of grace with confidence of our forgiveness in Him. There is no excuse for those who know God to walk like a “Gentile” without trying to walk in righteousness.
The second contrast is between light and darkness. Paul says that the Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding.” Conversely, John says in 1John 1, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all,” and again, “Walk in the light as he is in the light.” Light is purity and divine energy. After his encounter with God, Moses’ face glowed for time so brightly, that the people asked him to put on a veil, because they were not used to it. Some prefer the darkness, but as Christians we are not to have fellowship with darkness. Consider when you walk into the barn and flip on the light, the mice and the cockroaches all scatter because they do not like the light. Also, when you have been in the dark long enough, a bright light that suddenly shines is almost painful. But as Christians, if we stay in the light of God fellowship, avoiding the dark detours, we will seek to walk in the light of purity more diligently, like moths to a flame.
The final contrast is the one of life and death. Those apart from God are excluded from eternal life with God; rather they face an eternal death with Satan. But for those who are in Christ, death has no power over him. As it is written, “O death where is your victory, o death where is your sting” (1 Cor. 15). Christians have a heavenly hope to press on toward this prize of life with Him. Therefore, we must be a people who walk in hope and steadfastness, knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Let our walk be in big contrast to that of this world.
"Be Holy, as your Father in heaven is holy." -Jesus
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