I believe we are born with the desire to imitate.
As little girls we imitate our moms. I remember vividly wanting to be EXACTLY like my mom when I was little…..all the way down to wearing her lipstick and high heeled shoes.
My husband has a similar story. He used to beg his parents to change his name from Dirk to Jim….just so he would have the same name as his dad. Many evenings my husband would eagerly wait for his dad at the front door with his own little briefcase in hand excited to hear how his hero’s day went.
This desire to imitate is a God-given desire…..
“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.” Ephesians 5:1-2
Be an imitator…be like Christ.
How did Christ live his life?
He lived a life of love. A life of service, a life of sacrifice.
He loved us so much he sacrificed everything…..HE became the offering.
I want to imitate Christ with my life as a wife, mom, daughter, friend…..as a sister in Christ.
Be imitators of God….live a life of love….
As I take my place in God’s family…I need to live a life of love.
As a child of God who has been adopted into His family by grace…Eph 2:8
As I go through life with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ…I need to live a life of love.
With my brothers and sisters in Christ, be humble, gentle, patient….bear with one another in love. Eph 4:2
As I pursue my role as a wife …I need to live a life of love.
Wives, submit to your husband, as to the LORD. Eph 5:22
As a daughter and a mother …I need to live a life of love.
Honor your father and mother…do not exasperate your children…Eph 6:4
The book Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it’s all about living our lives loving others, and loving God. Paul concludes the book of Ephesians by encouraging us to be STRONG in the LORD and His mighty power….we will have struggles he reminds us….living a life of love and sacrifice isn’t easy.
My advice to all of us….lets imitate Christ.
How?
- Be in God’s Word….part of imitating someone is knowing them. Spend time daily, preferably in the morning before your day starts, with God reading His Word and allowing His words to change you from the inside out.
- Pray….work on making it a habit to be in constant communion with God.
- Focus……focus on Jesus and don’t look around at what others are doing, just stay focused on Him and in His Word.
- Love….imitate Christ and live a life of LOVE.
- Finally be thankful….
“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” –Ephesians 2:12-13
At one time I was without hope…..without God.
At one time I was far away from God…but Jesus brought me near.
Thank you Jesus for the hope and relationship we have with you! Though once we were far from you, thank you for bringing us near through your precious blood.
Thank you for living and dying a life of love for us!
Love God Greatly!
-Angela
If you desire to be in God’s Word, let me encourage you to join me for an 8 week online bible study this fall over at GoodMorningGirls.Org as we go through the book of Colossians! Our sign-ups start August 15th and our bible study begins September 15th! We would love for you to join us!
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