Imitator of God

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

IMITATOR OF GOD

Eph 5:1-2

5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

NIV

We are going to be admonished more about certain acts that are completely opposite of being an imitator of God, but we cannot pass over this living a life of love, just as Christ loved us. Could that be the imitation of God, living as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God? We are told to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual act of worship. We are also told in conjunction with our offering ourselves, to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but that we are supposed to be transformed by renewing our minds or changing the way we think about sin and about God. When we stop trying to satisfy the cravings of our humanness, if that is even completely possible, and think about the things of God, or as we are also told to think about what is pure, noble, admirable, excellent, lovely, and praiseworthy. When we look at that list, all those traits describe Jesus. Therefore, we are to always think about Jesus, and because our desire is to be more like Jesus, which is a constant state of changing, becoming more like Him every day of our lives. How can we just remain stagnant in our faith or the way we think? We cannot believe God is stagnant, but ever engaged in loving us and pouring out his blessings on those who love Him. Of course, God does not change, for He is always the same God. But we must change, we must transform from what we were into what we should be. We also know the love of God toward us has never changed, it has never been less than it is now and His love for us cannot become greater, for His love for us may even be more than we can fully comprehend, but we know God’s love for us cannot be duplicated by a mere man, although we are told to love God and our fellow man. So, if we live this life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, then it would make sense that we are to give ourselves up as a fragrant offering to God. That would require that we are transformed in the way we think. We will come to a list of ways we certainly are not supposed to think, but for now, let us examine our thinking, and see if we are thinking more about ourselves than we should, looking to our own interests too much, and not thinking about God as much as we should. How else are we even going to try to imitate God, unless we live in the same way that Jesus lived, for He is God who came to earth in our form to not only be the sacrifice for our sins but to also show us the way to live a life of love. Then we have to go to the letter to the Corinthians to see God’s definition of love, then we have the mark to reach. Maybe we might get into those traits of love and examine how they play out in our lives before we go past this admonition to be an imitator of God.