God Imitator

Ephesians 5:1-2—Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

What a challenge to be an imitator of God!  It’s hard to live in love sometimes.  It can be exhausting to put others first and love them, especially when you might not be feeling loved in return.  As humans, we tend to justify our acts of withholding love from others.  We might say they are undeserving.  Or that they have hurt us, so now we can hurt them.  We might make them a pariah because their behaviors don’t conform to our standards.  We might exclude others who do things we don’t like.  But if we think about Jesus’ example, he never ever did that.  Every single time the disciples tried to protect him by keeping others away, he rebuked them and said, “No!”  He wanted the people to come to Him.  The children, the prostitutes, the lame, the sick, the poor, the sinful.  He surrounded Himself with the outcasts of society, and He showed them love when no one else could or would.  That is what it means to be an imitator of God.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, worship God as the lover of all mankind.  Take a moment to listen to “Unlovable” by Plumb and let those words speak to your soul.  Declare your desire to imitate God and pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and lead your every action.