Ephesians 5:13-20 (NIV)

If you’ve ever gotten a song stuck in your head you know that the only surefire way to get it out is to get another one in--even better if it’s one that you actually like, better still if it’s one that feeds your soul and makes you feel stronger, deeper, or more full of love. Music has a way of shaping us, of speaking to us in places words cannot reach.

In today’s passage, Paul tells the Ephesian Christians to sing to one another. While that might sound weird to our modern ears, the point is this: the world is constantly offering cheap substitutes for meaning, activities and habits that are easy to get stuck in our lives but produce nothing of substance. As a community of Jesus followers, we have a responsibility to constantly remind one another of who God is, what he has done in and through Jesus, and what that means for our lives. To sing a new song in place of the old.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?

2. Paul here contrasts light and darkness, things that are alive with things that are dead. And he calls these new believers to fill their lives with things that matter. Are there things in your life that are just meaningless, things that don’t bring life? What might it be like to replace those thoughts or actions with things that produce flourishing--in yourself and others?

3. Most of us try our best to keep our sins and failures a secret, we want to look like we have it together to maintain our belonging or status. But the irony is that our sins and struggles really only have power over us when we keep them in the dark. And if they stay in the dark, we can’t really be known by anyone.  Are there areas of sin, pain or struggle that you fear exposing to the light? Ask the Spirit to give you the courage to share those with a trusted friend or mentor today.

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