Ephesians 5: 1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offereing and sacrifice to God.
It is natural for children to imitate their parents. Children often have their parents nature, their behaviour, and their actions. You can be around a child and you can see their parents in the way they walk, the way they talk and in the things they do.
As we see in the above scripture we are to be imitators of Christ. You cant imitate a person if you do not know anything about them. A child learns to imitate a parents because they spend a lot of time in each others presence. It is the same for us, if we are to imitate Christ we need to know Him, we need to study His Word, we need to be in His presence. We must put into practice everything we know about Him. We are to do the things we see Him doing, and we are to avoid the things He avoids. We are to be like God in every respect.
The reality of the above is impossible for us to do within ourselves. Left up to us, we could never be imitators of God. We simply cannot imitate God through our own power. (phew I am glad aren't you?). But as redeemed children of God, we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to live like Him, act like Him, walk like Him and talk like Him. God has empowered us and enabled us to live Holy lives for His Glory.
Remember we are not mere slaves following in the footsteps of a demanding master. We are the sons and daughters of God. We have been redeemed by His Grace, adopted into His family and are partakers of His very nature. (let that sink into. your spirit)
Being an imitator of God means we must imitate His love. God is love, His very nature is love. Everything He does, He does it out of love. As children of God we are to imitate and walk in that love. The good news is, we do it, not in our own strength but through the Power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us.
Gossip is not imitating Christ
Judging is not imitating Christ
Nagging is not imitating Christ
Un-forgiveness is not imitating Christ
Being offended is not imitating Christ
Lying is not imitating Christ etc. etc.
Imitators of Christ can turn the world upside down for His Glory
