ECHO, the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, is an international Christian ministry offering sustainable farming solutions to missionaries and community development workers helping poor farmers globally. Their home base and demonstration farm is just about fifteen minutes from my home on Little Farm Road and before retiring I served as the “Tours & Talks Coordinator” for the organization.
THE FARM is divided into five sections, each showcasing sustainable farming techniques under unique conditions: hot humid lowlands; tropical highlands; monsoon; semiarid; tropical rainforest; and rooftop gardening for city dwellers. Giving farm tours was a fun kind of job which included introducing visitors to exotic edible plants, trees and small animals useful to families on small farms living in the tropics. It was a sort of “show and tell.” Visitors were often surprised to learn that soil is not necessary to grow crops. Truth is all you really need is “light, air, water and nutrients.” I was reminded of that bit of trivia as I read the verses for this morning’s Post challenging us to “live as children of light.”
“LIVE AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”*
A BIT OF A STRETCH perhaps, but here is where I was reminded of my ECHO tour days. Light serves as a “productive” force. Consider the effect of light on plant growth and the bearing of fruit in the tropics. Those expanded hours of intense sunlight make for a bountiful harvest. In the spiritual realm, those who live in God’s light should produce the fruit of moral and ethical character in abundance. Notice the contrast between those inhabiting the darkness and the light. The verse says the deeds of those living in darkness are fruitless. Wouldn’t that be true in the realm of nature as well? Tropical plants simply will not produce the desired fruit without proper light!
“CHILDREN OF LIGHT,” What do they look like?” That’s a question we’ll ponder for the next few weeks; but, today’s verse says they bear the fruit of goodness, righteousness and truth. So how do they look? “Goodness” appears as something conforming to the moral order of the universe. It’s useful, beneficial and praiseworthy in character. “Righteousness” acts in accord with divine or moral law and is free from guilt or sin. “Truth” is the state of being in agreement with fact or reality, manifesting itself in sincerity of action, character and utterance.
IN OTHER WORDS: A person who obeys the Word of God (righteousness) and speaks the truth in love (truthfulness) is praiseworthy in character (goodness). There we have our first snapshot of the children of light!
*Ephesians 5:8-11
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