Imitators of God

Verse of the day: Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

I am sure that many of us have heard this question before... If you were charged with being a born again Christian, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you? I believe many of us would be ready to proclaim that there would be, but the real answer would be determined by what God, and others, see. Why? Because we generally do not see, of ourselves, what God, and others, see of us. That truly is a humbling thought. We are exhorted to be imitators (followers) of God. Like children who want to imitate, and be like their fathers, we ought to desire, and make great efforts, to be like our Heavenly Father. As God is kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving (Eph 4:32), so ought we to be the same. Too often, we get the whole concept of being like God backwards. We encounter others regularly, but we let the other person's attitude or actions determine whether or not we respond in love. That is not what our God does. He begins with love, and already knows about our bad attitudes, and wicked, sinful, actions; yet He still loves us, and demonstrates it by the way He responds, and deals with us, daily. That is what we, as His children, should be doing in our approach to life, and others. We must allow the love of God move us, and be the determining factor in our response to others. Who the other person is should not be the determining factor in our behavior toward them; for even if it is an enemy, we are to show them love (Mt 5:44-47). If we love only those who love us, how are we different from the world? How are we imitating God when He loved us, even when we were His enemies (Rm 5:8)? This is the love, and lifestyle, which Jesus demonstrated toward us. His actions toward us are based on His love, and not our actions toward Him. How great His grace! As He gave Himself for us, and sacrificed Himself for our sake, in obedience to His Father's will, so we are to be in our imitation of our Lord, willing to love, and take up our cross daily (Mt 16:25). The bottom line is that, in Jesus, we are an acceptable sweet-smelling savour (2 Cor 2:15). Our God is love (1 Jn 4:16), and we are called to love one another, even as He has loved us; for by this the world will know that we belong to Him, and that we are His disciples (Jn 13:35). The Apostle Paul encouraged the church to be followers of him, as he was a follower of Christ (1 Cor 11:1). If those who observe us in our every day lives were to follow us, who would they be following, us, the devil, or Jesus? As we desire for our earthly children to imitate us in our faith, and love of the Lord, so our Heavenly Father wants us to imitate Him. Would those who imitate us be imitating our Father? I ask again... Would there be enough evidence in our lives to convict us of being true followers or imitators of our Father in Heaven or our Lord and Savior?