Be Imitators of God

Daily Devotional 28 Sept 2020

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
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When I think of how we are told to imitate God as His children, it’s helpful for me to picture this scene. Ladies, you go to the bathroom and find your make-up bag in disarray...powder on the counter, lipstick smudges on the mirror and the overpowering scent of your perfume used to excess. You follow the scent and find your two year old staring at themselves in the mirror–face covered with lipstick and mascara, perfume heavy in the air, feet adorned with your favourite heeled shoes and wearing an assortment of your clothing, hats and/or jewelry. They are excited to see you. They want to show you how beautiful they are...just like you! In their childlike way they are showing how much they value the relationship they have with you, by trying to imitate you. Is this not the perfect picture of how we are to imitate God?

As children of God, maturing in our spiritual walk, we are prone to excess as well. While we are attempting to imitate God, our earliest attempts can be somewhat gaudy, overdone and lacking finesse. But how does our Father respond–with a smile, a warm hug and encouragement to keep trying. He would far rather us make somewhat of a mess in our efforts to imitate Him, then to not try at all. As we grow in our faith, He will use different means to refine us. We serve a God of love, of grace, of forgiveness, of mercy and of justice. Which is worse–to go a ‘little heavy’ on our imitation of Him in these attributes or neglect them altogether? We are instructed in the above verses that imitating God means walking in love–daily allowing this godly attribute to characterize us. And not just a little, but to the same exorbitant degree shown by the One we claim to follow, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
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If you are not in the habit of thinking of yourself as needing to imitate God, might I encourage you to do so beginning today. One of our primary goals as a Christian should be to become like Jesus–to live like He did. No need to grow a beard, adopt first century fashion and make walking your main mode of transportation. Rather, take a look at how Jesus interacted with others, the time He spent with His Father, His motivations...then imitate Him. God will be most pleased with your efforts, no matter that you might make a bit of a mess...
~ Pastor Jane