1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved usand offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Be Like Dad
I’m told that when I was fairly young, whenever I played cops and robbers, I always wanted to be the robber. From some reason, the criminal appealed to me more than the cop. I didn’t find out that my dad was in prison (for robbing a bank) until much later, and yet somehow, in my mind, I knew that’s where he was.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m doing exactly what my mom or dad did”? Perhaps you’ve said that. You say something to your child and then it hits you that the phrase was the same thing your parents used to say to you. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not so good.
The point is, we imitate those who are closest to us. Again, good or bad. In fact, one of the first things a marriage counsellor will do when sitting with a couple is find out about their parent’s marriage. When I do pre-marriage counselling, I’ll ask the couple how they were raised, and we’ll discuss the differences and how to bring them together.
Paul is inviting us to imitate our spiritual father. That’s not easy to do unless you are close to him. In order to imitate God, you need to have experiences with God. Do you? Do you spend time with him? Whether it’s in prayer or reading the Bible, or even just inviting God to be with you throughout your day, the more time we spend acknowledging his presence with us, the more likely it is that we will imitate him.
So, why not invite him on your journey today?
My prayer: Lord, at times the idea of living life the way you would live it seems overwhelming. Can I actually do that? I mean, I mess up all the time. And yet, the reality is, you’ve called me to imitate you in life. And so, I choose to spend time with you. I invite you to walk with me today so that I may learn more from you. Amen.
Until tomorrow
