“Follow
God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way 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 New Living Translation
Charles Caleb Colton, a English clergyman in the early 1800’s was quoted
as saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Now we are by no
means trying to flatter God by imitating him, but if we were every inclined to
imitate anyone, our Creator would be an excellent choice. Children tend to
imitate their parents and we are God’s children, so emulating his behavioral
characteristics will yield only constructive and positive benefits. But we
shouldn’t imitate him for what we get out of it; we should do it because we
love him and wish to be like him more than anything else.
Christ
loved us and proved by his own death that ‘love’ is indeed an action word. Talk
is cheap, but actions speak volumes. He willingly gave himself up as a fragrant
sacrifice to Almighty God. We are to offer up our lives to God as well, not
thru death, but thru the lives we live.
Not
only are we to love God, but we are also to love others as an extension of
God’s love. Our love isn’t supposed to reside solely in our words, but in our
self-sacrificing service to those around us. John 13:35 says, “Your love for
one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." That is
how to remain pleasing to the Lord, by being his loving, gracious and merciful
representative to our brethren & to the world around us. Until next time,
walk with the King and be a blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment