Imitators of God

"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."
Ephesians 5:1-2

When I was little, the guy that I most wanted to be like was my dad. He had a sense of humor, he was strong, and he liked sports. He had a certain wisdom about life that he would share once in a while. It made me want to imitate him. Until the day he walked out on our family. Unlike human fathers, our heavenly Father will never leave us, never hurt us, and never forsake us. He loves us. Yes, He disciplines us, but it is because He loves us that He does so.

Some of you out there may be thinking, "How can I be an imitator of God? I mean, He's God, and I am not! He is perfect. He is God!" Well, that is a good question. To imitate God, is to empty yourself of your self, and to be "others-centered," meaning to think of others before yourself. It means to be righteously angry at what makes God angry, the sin and wickedness that the devil promotes. It means that we put on love, and we walk in love, just as Christ has loved us. How did He love us? He sacrificed His life for us. So we too are to love others. His love for us, His giving His life for us, was a sacrifice to God. So, when we show love to those dirty, stinking, ugly people out there, with whom we walk through this world, when we sacrifice and love the ones whom we don't think deserve our love, we must remember, that was at one time, us. We were dirty, and He loved us anyway. We were stinky, and He loved us anyway. We were ugly (and many of us still are), and He loved us anyway. Love is so powerful, and God is so powerful, because God is love (1 John 4:8). So how do we be imitators of God? We love. We love when it is a sacrifice for us. We love when it isn't a sacrifice for us. We continuously love our fellow man, and show the love of Christ. That is how we light the world with His love.

When we show love to this world in which we live, we will stand out. So many out there are only looking out for them- selves, that when someone comes along, showing the sacrificial love of Christ, you will be different, and will be a breath of fresh air in the life of those with whom you come in contact. That person at the grocery store, that man on the street, that woman with the small children. Our goal is to show them the love of Christ. And we can do that, by being humble, by being gentle, by being kind, by being joyful with them, by being patient with them. Being patient with someone can, alone, show the love of Christ, as there is hardly any patience left in this world.

Let us, then, dear children, be imitators of God, and walk in love. That is what Christ did for us. He sacrificed Himself for us. Let us then, go out there, and sacrifice ourselves for others, and show the love of Christ, and be imitators of God. Amen.