Embracing Your True Self: Living in Your Christ-Centered Identity With Jennifer SlatterySample

You are a child of the day.

Growing up, I saw a lot of darkness. Some of my relatives followed a mixture of New Ageism and what I’d term self-created spiritualism, likely heightened by their frequent and open drug use. At family reunions, I commonly saw someone nearly passed out on the couch while others traipsed off to get high.

While their behavior made me uncomfortable, I didn’t understand why until I became an adulthood and connected with a local church. I suddenly I saw every shameful act, including those I myself committed in my late teen years, for what they were.

I wonder if this was how the ancient Ephesian believers reading Paul’s letter felt. I assume many if not most of them had been called straight from paganism with its temple prostitution and lewd sexual acts and to a life of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Christ had lovingly flooded their lives with light.

Once we’ve trusted in Christ for salvation, we’ve crossed over into the realm of goodness and life. Jesus set us free from the dominion of darkness and by His grace, made us children of the day. Of light.

Journal Prompt:

Pause to reflect on what your life was like prior to pursuing Christ. In what ways did darkness dictate your actions? How does it feel to know that you are now a child of the day and, according to Christ, the light of the world? How might living in this reality help shatter shame or regret from your past?