Sept. 27

Ephesians 5:1  "Be imitators of God"

I don't know about anyone else reading that this morning, but I stopped and had to let that sit for a bit. Imitate God?  Think about when we were growing up, we were always trying to imitate someone, whether it be our parents, teachers, friends, or some super hero --   but to imitate God is a pretty far stretch.  As I continued to read, I was trying to really understand what the Apostle Paul was trying to convey.  As I read on, I realized Paul isn't tell us to BE God, he is telling us to live our lives in a manner that is no longer proper for a redeemed sinner in Christ.  Greed, foolish talk, coarse joking (and the list goes on),  is now "out of place" for us.  Not only is that behavior out of place for us, but so are the people who remain in it, they just haven't realized it yet.  We too were once in the same darkness, but glory be to God, we have been lifted out of the miry pit and are now called to shine the Lord's light into the very dark we were rescued from.  I love the line "find out what pleases the Lord"(v.10).  By spending time in the word, and spending quiet time with God, it becomes very clear what pleases Him.  In pursuing that, we are in fact imitating Him. Our original design was created in His image (Gen. 1:27).  We were created to "be imitators of God".  I pray for all of us today that we make the most out of every opportunity today to shine God's light where ever we go as we emulate, follow and copy our King.  

Randi