Imitating God
By Sarah Walker
By Sarah Walker
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love...Ephesians 5:1-2a (ESV)
In 1 John 4, we are told that God is love. And in 1 Corinthians 13, we are given a list of what love is. What would happen if we combined those two concepts and listened to what God is telling us about Himself? The revelation from God’s perspective would go something like this:
“I am patient and kind.
I do not envy or boast.
I am not arrogant or rude.
I do not insist on my own way.
I am not irritable or resentful.
I do not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rather I rejoice with the truth.
I bear all things.
I believe all things.
I hope all things.
I endure all things.”
When we struggle with being patient, we can call to mind those times when we have seen the patience of God towards us when we did not deserve it. We might not be patient, but He is. We can imitate His patience. When kindness is the furthest thing from our hearts, we can remember a time when God was kind to us even when our actions did not justify a kind response. We might not feel very kind, but God is. We can imitate His kindness. And so on down the list...
When we feel empty, worn out, unable to give anymore... We can look to God, who is love. We can look to Him, and how He has modeled that love towards us and towards those around us. And remembering that we are His beloved children, we can look to our heavenly Father and emulate Him.
It is not in our own power, or in our own strength, that we can accomplish this. It is only as we watch our heavenly Father at work and desire to walk in His footsteps. He has shown us the way to do it. He is a loving Father who first shows us how to do something, and then asks us to mimic what He has shown us.
Let us live our lives that way. Not mustering up our own willpower and strength to love ourselves, our families, our enemies and the world around us. But rather, let us see our heavenly Father model how to do it for us...and then imitate Him.
GOING DEEPER:
1. How have you seen the love of God at work in your own life?
2. How can you imitate that love today?
FURTHER READING:
Sarah is married to Scott and is a full-time mom to their two young sons. She and Scott co-lead a summer/winter neighborhood small group.
