You were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord;
walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).

Ephesians 5:8 describes the essential change of nature which
occurs at salvation. It doesn’t say you were in darkness; it says
you were darkness. Darkness was your nature, your very essence,
as an unbeliever. Nor does it say you are now in the light; it
says you are light. God changed your basic nature from darkness
to light. The issue in this passage is not improving your nature.
Your new nature is already determined. The issue is learning to
walk in harmony with your new nature.

Why do you need the nature of Christ within you? So you can be
like Christ, not just act like Him. God has not given us the
power to imitate Him. He has made us partakers of His nature so
that we can actually be like Him. You don’t become a Christian by
acting like one. We are not on a performance basis with God. He
doesn’t say, “Here are My standards, now you measure up.” He
knows you can’t solve the problem of an old sinful self by simply
improving your behavior. He must change your nature, give you an
entirely new self–the life of Christ in you–which is the grace
you need to measure up to His standards.

That was the point of His message in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew
5:20). The scribes and Pharisees were the religious
perfectionists of their day. They had external behavior down to a
science, but their hearts were like the insides of a tomb:
reeking of death. Jesus is only interested in creating new
persons from the inside out by infusing in them a brand-new
nature and creating in them a new self. Only after He changes
your identity and makes you a partaker of His nature will you be
able to change your behavior.

Dear Jesus, thank You for rescuing me from the kingdom of
darkness and transferring me into Your marvelous light. I choose
to walk as a child of light today.

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
http://www.GOSHEN.net/ . It is written by Neil Anderson at
http://www.freedominchrist.com/ .