8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. (Ephesians 5:8-14)
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. . . You might remember those WWJD bracelets that were all the rage years ago. You could not go to a conference or youth group anywhere in the country without running into these simple fashion statements. The idea behind them was that throughout your day, you would ask “what would Jesus do in this situation?” As imitators of Jesus, this is a fair question to ask when faced with the complex dilemmas of this world. The thought was if we could choose like Jesus, we could share His light with the dark world around us.
Our lives are to be about giving Him increasing glory. There is an incredible servant mindset we have that grows in its self-denial. And this is the best for us. As we live to give Him glory with our lifestyle choices, our lives start to build in harmony and contentment as we unite with our true upward calling. What is best for us is His continued glory.
Lord, help us to discern what is pleasing to you. May our words, thoughts, and actions bring you glory and may we increase in discipline to do so.
Matt simon blog 