Be Imitators of God

I so enjoy the stage of life my wife, Sadie, and I are in. We have 2 young children. At the time of this writing, our oldest girl, Piper is 4. Her younger sister, Emmy, is 2. I’m amused at how they imitate everything they see and hear. Piper’s personality is most like mine. Emmy is more like her mom, but because she is the younger sister, she repeats everything Piper says and does. Isn’t it funny how we learn by imitating? Even as adults, there are things we pick up from those we admire. Imitating is how we learn and grow.

This has me thinking how the Bible commands us to imitate God. Doesn’t that seem impossible? How can we, as flawed as we are, imitate a holy, just and perfect God? How can we even come close? Well, you might be surprised at how the Bible says we can (and should) be imitating God in our daily life. When you explore Ephesians 5:1, it reveals a deep truth that has the potential to change your life.

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1

Therefore
The first thing we must do is pause with the word “therefore.” Anytime you see that important word in the Bible, you should immediately read the previous section because something major was just said. Therefore is a transition word you should always pay attention to. In the case of Ephesians 5, we must go back to the ending of Ephesians 4.

Ephesians 4:22, Paul reminds us that we have taken off the “old self.” In verse 24 he instructs us, “and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

So the word, therefore, is a huge transition word teaching us that because we have taken off the old self, we now have the ability to imitate God. How you ask? Because the “new self” that we are putting on is “created in the likeness of God.” Do you see how that enables us to imitate Him? While it may seem impossible to imitate a holy God, the correct view of Scripture teaches that it is possible because we have removed the “old self” and put on the “new self…created in the likeness of God.”

Be imitators of God
The Greek word for imitators is intriguing. It is mimetas. It is where we get our English word, mime. Have you ever seen a mime, perhaps in a heavy tourist area? They don’t say a word. Mimes don’t have to say anything because they clearly communicate their message by acting in a clear way. You can tell what they are trying to say by their actions!

Paul is saying that if we are going to “imitate” God, we cannot just talk about it. Our lives should have the kind of actions that back it up! How many people do you know that talk a good talk, but their lives tell a different story? That’s the point of this word “imitate.” The kind of life we live should tell the story…not our words! Frances of Assisi who lived in the early 1200’s would say, “Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.”

As beloved children
As I said earlier, my oldest, Piper, is most like me. She gets frustrated the way I do. She loves books the way I do. She wakes up in the middle of the night with her mind racing just like I do and the list could keep going. Her personality is striking to my own. Why? Because she is my child. My DNA is in her.

In a similar way, the Bible teaches that we are children of God. Note the end of Eph. 5:1, “…as beloved children.” The Greek word for children here is Teknon, it’s different than the Greek word for infants and different than the Greek word for a mature, grown adult child. Teknon means, “Offspring, bearing the characteristics and nature.”

Why is Piper just like me? Because I’m her father! Her nature and characteristics are parallel to my own. In a comparable way, when we become “born again” we become God’s child. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

Ponder Read 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, we are now God’s children.” I love that phrase. I’m not waiting to become God’s child. I’m not waiting for God’s love or for God’s acceptance. Rather, I’m His child now! I’m accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). May these Scriptures wash over you and bring joy to your heart!

How do we imitate God?
The Bible tells us several ways that we can imitate our Heavenly Father. Again, Piper can easily imitate me because she born of me. She is me made over…literally! Because we are born again to a “new creation, old things have passed away and everything becomes new” 2 Corinthians 5:17 we can now imitate the Lord in our daily living. Here are at least three ways you can begin to imitate the Lord.

We imitate God in Love
Notice that Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:2 to, “Walk in love.” This is going to be confirmed by John in 1 John 4:10, when he makes one of the most profound statements in the Bible, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he first loved us.” He then makes the argument that if God sovereignly initiated His love toward us, it should reflect in us loving others.

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:7-12 ESV).

We imitate God in Holiness
1 Peter 1:14 reinforces the idea that as obedient children, we are to reflect our Father’s nature and actions. Read carefully as Peter writes to Christians who are in exile. In verse 17, he will remind them that even though they are living in exile, they are still expected to glorify God by living holy lives in all of their conduct. If that was the expectation for living in exile, how much more does the Lord require of us who live in comfort and abundance in the United States?

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (1 Peter 1:14-23 ESV)

We imitate God in Mercy
If anyone should show mercy to others, it is us, who have received mercy from Jesus. His words in Luke 6:32-36 are piercing. Note that Jesus says when we show mercy as the Father has shown mercy, we are “Sons of the Most High.”

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:32-36 ESV)

Conclusion
When I read that I should be imitating God, it can feel imitating…if not impossible. However, when I study what the Bible says about the great working God has done in my life, I begin to see that I can reflect God in my daily living.

So, are you selling yourself short? Are you living below the standard God has set because you think that you could never represent the Lord in a positive way? I encourage you to ponder these Scriptures deeply and look for opportunities to glorify God in your daily life. Look for areas that you can imitate God. It may be through showing kindness to someone. It may be in forgiving that person you have said you could never forgive. It could be in extending mercy to someone who doesn’t deserve it. Because God has had mercy on you, you can now have mercy on them!

I am praying for you and I am praying for myself that we would imitate the Lord in a way that people would see God working in our lives and desire that same kind of working in their own.