Be Imitators of God

At the end of chapter 4 in Ephesians, Paul exhorts us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” Then he immediately follows up in 5:1 by saying, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Meaning, he’s pointing back to 4:32 and talking about our character reflecting the character of God. What’s the motivation and engine to produce that character? It’s the heart of the Gospel — the free grace and unfathomable forgiveness God has shown us.

We always imitate what we love. As a child I wanted to have sweet juke moves like my favorite NFL running back, Barry Sanders, and would mimic them in my backyard (trees didn’t stand a chance of tackling me). As I look at youth culture, I notice how teenagers imitate the clothing styles, demeanor, or worldview of their favorite bands, celebrities, fictional characters, or friends. We always imitate what we love, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Phil Mickelson is considered by many to be the greatest left-handed golfer ever. I found out last week that he’s not actually left-handed. He throws a football, writes, and does everything but hit a golf ball with his right hand. The reason he golfs left-handed is because from the time he was 18 months old, he’d watch his dad (who was right-handed) practice hitting golf balls. As he grew up watching his dad, he’d mirror his swing and putting. Even though it was against his nature to be a lefty, as he gazed adoringly at his father as a beloved son, he became an imitator. It was backwards to his original nature, but looking and loving and practicing caused him to mirror his father.

Earlier in chapter 4 Paul says to “put off the old self” (4:22) and to “put on the new self.” (4:24) Let’s never pretend like nothing’s happened to us as Christians. God has done something! He’s broken in, given us new life, and changed us! There’s a new way to be human, a new basis for identity in Christ, a new hope for eternity, a new way to walk through life.

Paul reiterates his point in 5:2, saying, “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” There is a call to holiness for the Christian. The call to walk in  a certain way isn’t determined arbitrarily. Rather, it’s vitally connected to the character of the God in whose image we were created. Often times our motivation for striving for holiness can stem from the wrong place, which usually leads to us falling into sin or having a crushed spirit from trying to keep God’s commands through our own power. Thank God He’s done something to save our weary, sinful souls and has given us His Spirit to lead us towards holiness. My prayer is that we’d gaze adoringly at our Father in Heaven. He is mighty and awesome and glorious and holy and just and rich in mercy. Let’s remember that He has forgiven us, loved us first, and cleansed us from our sin. Therefore, let’s walk as Christ walked. Let’s care about holiness (read chapters 4 through 6 of Ephesians to get some ideas of what that might mean). Let’s look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Be imitators of God, as beloved children.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face,

And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim,

in the light of his glory and grace”

-“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Helen Lemmel