1 Thessalonians 5:5 - Remembering Who You Are

1 Thessalonians 5:5 “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”

In life you will find that we all need reminders of who we are, where we came from, and who we are becoming.  We need these reminders because we find ourselves forgetting who we really are in the daily bustle of our lives.  We find often will find ourselves surrounded by nay-sayers who try to tear us down. We find ourselves being shown our faults by those who would take advantage of them. We learn mediocrity from those who know nothing better. In short we keep being pulled into the mold that the world tries to define us with.  We become captured by the system that we were rescued from and slowly fall into old habits and ideas. We slowly lose touch with ourselves and become a shadow of who we were and a mockery of what we are trying to do. We need to be reminded of ourselves, our true selves, our renewed selves, our redeemed selves, our righteous selves.

We are sons of light, we are children of the Most High, adopted heirs of the Lord Almighty. You are loved, unique, not made to hide in the shadows but to proudly walk in light, hiding from no-one. In Hebrew, being “the son of” was also a reference to sharing the qualities and characteristics of something. To be a son (or daughter) of the light is to share in the qualities and characteristics of light. To be a son or daughter of God is to share in His qualities and characteristics. You and I are sons and daughters of God, we walk in the light, hiding not who we are but instead being a light for the Lord. We are to spread His illumination throughout the world, showing everyone the difference between the darkness and the light. 

Despite the world tearing us down, when we are reminded of who we are, who we are becoming, we stand straighter, we walk taller, and we speak with more authority for we remember that we are the Lord's beloved children. We are princes and princesses in the Kingdom of Heaven and there is nothing the world can do to take that away from us. The world can try to mock us, to pull us down, to fog our minds and our hearts, but one reminder of who we are and suddenly all the worlds efforts are for naught. Who are you? You are God's beloved. You are His child, a child of the light, who walks in light, in spirit and in truth and has no need to fear the dark, the lies, the back-stabing, the angst, and the depression. What problems we face, we face clearly and fairly, knowing that God is on our side and no matter what, all things work to His glory.

Today and this week then, lets remind ourselves who we are. Let us remember the things God has done in our lives and that we are precious to Him. We are His beloved children. We do not in mediocrity but in blessing. We do not live hidden within the darkness but live with no fear of the Son's exposure, in fact we draw energy from Him and His attention! We are the delight of the Lord's eyes, the beating of His heart, the warmth in His voice. We are co-heirs with Christ!

As thro’ life you journey, be a cheering light,
Like the sun at morning, beautiful and bright;
Shine in gloomy places, as you pass them by,
Cheer the lives that sorrow, gladden those who sigh.

Daily, hourly, be a cheering light,
Glowing, gleaming, beautiful and bright;
Like a beacon burning in the night,
Glowing, gleaming, beautiful and bright.
                                                       ^{James Rowe, 1902.}