dressed accomplishments of other friends, other church
members, even (and you know it’s true) even total strangers.
It’s also not the identity your enemy wants in your head when
he’s moving strategically against you, when he’s maneuvering
himself into attack position. He wants you lifeless, disengaged,
brainwashed into believing you have nothing of value to offer.
That’s why he doesn’t want your nose in the Word or your
knees on the hardwood. Because that’s where the light comes
on. That’s where you find out the good news, perhaps the
surprisingly euphoric news—that you are alive, fully equipped
to stand firm against him. “Formerly darkness,” the Bible says,
yes. Formerly. At one time. But now “Light in the Lord”...
“children of Light”... able through Christ to produce “the fruit
of the Light” (Eph. 5:8–9).
That’s why Paul, in his colossal letter to the Ephesians,
came roaring out of the starting gate with one reminder after
another of the spiritual blessings we’ve been given, purely as
the result of Christ’s love toward us, commensurate with the
enormous value He’s placed on us. I almost hesitate to list
them for fear you’ll skim over them, feeling all too familiar with
them, knowing them already. But I’m asking you to soak them
into your soul. Let Paul’s identity sketch from Ephesians 1