Imitation Please

Ephesians 5:1 says "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." If you are a parent, you know how your children love to imitate you. It can be a real eye-opener when your child says something they hear you say! That's why it is so important as a parent to always watch what you say and do. We are God's children. He is our Father. If we love Him, we should imitate Him. You may be thinking "How do I imitate Him when I can't see or hear Him?" Look back at the verse. Do you see the word therefore in it? I've heard our pastor say many times, "When you see a therefore, stop and find out what it's there for." Go back and read Chapter 4 in Ephesians. It is full of verses that tell us things we should and should not be doing. If we follow the examples Paul gives us in that chapter of how God wants us to act and do them, then we will be imitators of God! When we love God, we want to make Him happy. We make Him happy when we obey Him and do what He wants us to do. The more we imitate God by speaking and behaving the way the Bible tells us to, the more we will become like Him.

I John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." God cannot be in the dark. He is light. If we want to be with Him and have fellowship with Him, we must live a life that is in alignment with Him. We can not be living in sin and claiming to be a Christian. That is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to non-Christians. They see people who want to claim they are Christians, yet they are living a life no different from their non-Christian friends. People need to see a difference in us. If we are imitating God and doing what He would do, there will be no confusion as to who we belong to. Make sure you let your light shine in the darkness.