12Aug16

Ephesians 5:11-13 (ESV)
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible...

There are two things in this verse that I want to highlight today. 1) Sometimes it's easier to just let something happen then to confront the issue. 2) What we do in the dark never stays in the dark. I remember when I was going to school there was a bunch of my friends who would work together to cheat on tests. They had their own hand signals for each letter of the multiple choice questions and would be able to confer on who had the correct answer. Most of us knew what was going on. But, no one ever said anything. It was just easier to let it happen... because, "you do you." Right? This was all fine and dandy until they were discovered and then everyone had to retake the exams separately because we didn't know who was involved. That kicked a lot of us in the butt with lower scores. We are not only supposed to stay away from dark acts... but, expose them! Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

As we start thinking and reflecting on the last five months away from home it has been easy to hide things from those we love. Maybe there are things that you are doing or have done that you wouldn't like your family to know about. Or maybe they did and those issues are now in the light. It is important to realize that there is nothing done that stays hidden forever. It is time to start thinking about how you are going to confront these issues, expose the lies, and garnish forgiveness. Let's go back home with nothing on our conscience so that we can focus on loving those we are being reunited with.