Children of Light
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
25th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28)
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost is the epistle reading 1 Thessalonians 5. If I were to mention certain well known occupations, you would know instantly how to describe them. If I were to say police officer, teacher, nurse, solider, farmer you would know something about those jobs. Not only are those jobs easy to identify but they are also occupations that define a large part of the person’s identity that does them. He is a police officer. She is a doctor. They are farmers.
Today we are going to talk about our identity and what we will find is that our identity goes well beyond our vocations. Our vocations are given to us by God. They are our various callings in life such as spouse, parent, brother, and sister. It would also include our occupations that we do to earn money. All of our vocations are given to us so that we can honor God’s name and to serve society. Our callings are important, but they are not our identity. In our epistle reading Paul teaches us that our identity is in Christ. We are first and foremost Christians. He calls Christians children of light. He calls those who follow Jesus children of the day. This is more than just a vocation because the identity that Paul gives us encompasses our entire life, here and now and throughout all eternity.
Paul used the terms children of light and children of the day to describe believers in Jesus. Since God is light His people’s lives are also characterized by light. We of course did not become children of light through our own merits. Our identity of being children of light comes to us through Christ Jesus. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been forgiven, renewed and restored. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we have been given the gift of faith to trust in the Lord. That means that God through the merits of His Son has made us children of light.
Paul has reminded us who we are. Our identity is in Christ. He also reminds us to live as Christians. To live as children of light. This is especially important in the context of our readings for today. We are coming to the end of the church year and so the focus of the readings are on the last days and the visible return of Christ. In our Old Testament reading the prophet Zephaniah calls Judgement Day the Day of the Lord. He said these words. “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness”. Paul continues to talk about the Day of the Lord in our epistle reading. “While people are saying there is peace and security, then suddenly destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape”.
Zephaniah in our Old Testament reading and Paul in our epistle reading are both describing the darkness in this life. They are describing those who are slaves to sin. They are describing God’s judgment upon the world. The words of the Bible are very strong. Indeed every single person is accountable to God. But Paul goes on to remind us that we have no reason to fear Judgement Day as Christians. This is what he said in our text. “But you are not in darkness brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness”.
The Lord has called us all to repentance and He has forgiven us and has renewed us. The Spirit of God dwells in us. As Christians we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ. We look forward to that time when we will be in the full presence of God. We look forward to that time when we will live with each other forever in perfect peace and perfect joy. Paul said these words in our text. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”. As we focus our attention on the last days and on the return of Christ we do so with a sure and certain hope.
Through Christ Jesus we have been made children of light. Since God is light his people’s lives are characterized by light. Paul is reminding us who we are, a people redeemed by God, and he is encouraging us to be who we are, children of light. It would be easy for us to describe a nurse, teacher, or police officer but how would one describe a child of light? Paul speaks about this in our text. He tells us that the children of light are those who are ready for Christ’s return. We see very plainly that the sinful world does not give much thought to Judgement Day. Paul compares the unbelieving world to those who get drunk at night. People immerse themselves into this sinful world. They don’t respect God or take His Word seriously. They have rejected God’s grace. When Judgment Day does come they will be very surprised. As children of the Light we are ready for that time. We may not know the day or the time but we know it will come. We look forward to the time when Christ will come again.
Paul reminds us who we are. He said these words in our text. “But since we belong to the day let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation”. Children of light have faith in the Lord. We trust God in all things. We know that God’s Word is certain. We know that our Lord’s promises are true. We know that God has delivered us from the power of sin and death and has brought us into His eternal light. God has given us the breastplate of faith.
He has also given us the breastplate of love. Indeed through Christ Jesus we are given the desire to serve our neighbor and to encourage fellow Christians. We share the Gospel with those who are still in darkness so they too can be made alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve our neighbor in all the callings that the Lord has given us. We are part of the church that is we are members of God’s family. And so we encourage each other, pray for each other, admonish each other, and encourage each other. When our love is lacking, we turn to Christ because His love is overflowing.
Paul says that God has given us hope. We are not a people who live without hope nor do we cling to a false hope. What we have is a sure and certain hope that comes from Christ. Again I go to the words of Paul. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.” The hope that we have is to be with the Lord. It is to receive His blessings now and to be with Him through all eternity.
Paul speaks about the identity that God had given us. He calls us children of light. It is the Lord who made us His children at our Baptism, and it is the Lord who continues to sustain us by His Word. So by the power of the Holy Spirit we live as children of light. We wait for the return of Jesus. We trust in Him. We love because Christ loves us. We live in hope. Your identity is in Christ. It is an identity that encompasses your entire life. “For you are all children of light, children of the day.” Amen.