When you were a child did you ever want to be like your father or mother? I was walking around my block one day and saw a father mowing his lawn as his little boy, who couldn’t have been more than 4 years old, was pushing a toy mower right beside him. If we had good parents growing up, it is very likely that we wanted to imitate them - to be like them. Similarly, the bible encourages us to be imitators of our heavenly Father. And one of the attributes that seems to be highlighted most is his love. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 and 2:
"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 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."
There’s really no way that we can grab our spiritual toy mower and mow alongside God the Father, but we can imitate his character because it is clearly spelled out for us in the Bible. We’ve seen his love from the time he created us, all the way to when he sent Jesus to die for us, all the way to his promises of Jesus’ return and eternal life in heaven. His love for us is a common theme throughout the bible and so should our love for him and for others be a common theme throughout our lives. I’ve heard it said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. So, I encourage you to be imitators of God, because when we are, we ultimately bring glory to him.
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If we are truly imitators of God we would live a life of love. Jesus showed us the ultimate form of love by dying for us. And when we learn that, we understand that our life is not our own because it was bought with a price. And as such, we should no longer live for ourselves, but we should live for God. We should live the life of love that he modeled for us. That might not mean that you’ll be dying for someone. Love that is pure can display itself in many ways, but all forms of Godly love have one thing in common… selflessness. So, I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to express himself through you in love towards others in a way that would compliment God’s love for us.