Be Imitators Of God
I grew up in the church. I went to church every Sunday, and I even went to christian schools. I have partaken in bible studies and chapel services, sang and accompanied for choirs, etc. In my mind I thought that was what Paul meant in the verse above. See, I was living a life of a christian...going through all the motions, but there honestly wasn't any relationship with my Savior at all. I rarely read my bible on my own, and my prayers were pitiful to say the least. I hadn't asked the Lord into my life at all.
I've learned over the course of the past few months that God so desperately wants a relationship with all of us. He doesn't want us for one hour every Sunday, He wants us 100% of the time. He loves us that much!
So, what does being an imitator of God mean? First off, picture a child and their father. All they want to do is follow in his footsteps, live the way he lives, and copy his every move. That is the same concept that Paul is talking about. We are to imitate Jesus, and live a life of love. Wherever we go we should have a spirit of courage in proclaiming the gospel. In our everyday lives we encounter so many people, and sadly we forget to realize that they have a soul too. So many people are headed to hell, and the Lord has given us the words of eternal life. We could be the only person in their life to speak up and tell them about Christ. We can't expect the "next person" to do it. Christ told ALL believers to "Go and make disciples of all nations." It was not to just be delegated to missionaries and the office of evangelists. We can't let the fear of what they may think of us scare us away. Because, at the end of the day we know where we are headed. We know who we are in Christ. Why should it matter what others think about us, because we are children of the King!
If we live our lives imitating Christ that also means we can't fall susceptible to the ways of this world. The Holy Spirit inside of us helps with this battle every step of the way.
I think the best place to start is the bible. Reading Scripture and falling in love with who God is and who He made us to be gives the perfect perspective we need for this world. So, let's start imitating God. Let's be the light of the world. Let's go and spread the gospel to anyone and everyone we can! God is SO good, why wouldn't we want to share that awesome love with everyone we encounter! EVERYONE NEEDS JESUS!
*Sorry for how scattered this post was, I had a lot on my mind that I wanted to discuss!
