December 19, 2016 ME? IMITATE GOD?
Ephesians 4:31-5:1: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as
God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children;”
Really? Imitate God? We are so use to focusing on our humanity and our ‘short-comings’ and our not measuring up to our understanding of what it means to be a Christian, we may consider the idea of imitating God as a nice thought, but out of our grasp. Many believers continue to see themselves as ‘sinners’ even though they have been transformed and given new hearts and minds and have been joined to God. It is imperative that we are aware of the fact that we have been made new creations, that we are now sons and daughters of our Father God, and that God has made it possible for us to imitate Him. Jesus came and died that we might be redeemed, and that redemption not only assures us of heaven, but also redeems us from our old way of life. Jesus’ mission on earth was also for the purpose of demonstrating what it was like to live as a son of God in the midst of a dark world. Imitating God is not a matter of living by a list of do’s and don’ts, but a matter of living out of our new hearts, our new identity. There are times when we just have to make a decision to imitate God even if we do not ‘feel’ like doing so. We imitate God because that is who we are, not because we feel like it. Imitating God does not always come as a result of a spiritual experience we may have at a particular moment; imitating Him is to be a way of life for the believer. When we listen to, and obey the promptings of the Spirit within us, we will find ourselves imitating God. The liberating news is that we can be imitators of God in our relationships, on the job, on the golf course, at church, in our thought life, and in our overall demeanor. And again, it’s not a matter of living by rules, but a matter of living according to our new identity in Christ-He lives in us! Believers should be aware of the fact that it is possible for a believer not to live according to his or her identity, either because they do not know their new identity, or even worse, they simply choose to live according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. Let us be quick to lay aside those things that would not be in keeping with imitating God, and let us be quick to do the things that reflect the nature of our Father. The old adage holds true-‘like father, like son.’
Ephesians 4:22-24: “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Blessings,
Buddy
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