Dear Faith Family, 

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, (Ephesians 5:1). 

Technology bridged the six-hundred-mile gap between us, as I talked with my son on the phone.  I could hear my precious grandchildren in the background, sometimes in the foreground.  What was all the noise about?  It was trash day!  The trash truck was at the end of the driveway.  It’s a big deal!  A highlight of the week. 

Time marched on.  The trash truck was now gone.  Tears followed.  And then, in the background…noise.  What noise?  Well, my son’s son had knocked over any number of objects in their garage.  What was that about?  Not so carefully he was making his way over behind the trashcan.  Why?  He wanted to mimic the trash man.  He was “taking out the trash”. 

Everyday is filled with copycat activities.  In fact, much of what we do today is the result of having watched someone else do it first.  From brushing our teeth to driving a car to eating with a fork.  All those activities were first modeled for us by someone else, right?  Is your mind traveling memory row thinking about who first showed you how to do what you now do? 

And today?  Today when we don’t know how to do something?  We just Google it.  And then?  Then we imitate what someone else models in a video on YouTube. 

Here's the point.  Paul calls us to be imitators of God.  Wow!  Talk about aiming high!  And Paul unpacks just what he meant.  Walk in love.  Crawl on over and observe Jesus.  Exactly how did He love?  His was and is a love of self-sacrifice.  Giving up self for the sake of others. 

Two thoughts.  One.  Giving up of self in Christ is a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  Jesus did just that with His own life.  Are we called to do anything less?  Consider that self-sacrifice first and foremost is a fragrant offering to God.  Two.  Giving up of self is an opportunity to place others above you. 

Let that copycat mindset sink in.  Don’t you want to imitate your Father?  That kind of love challenges us to sacrifice our agenda, our time, our energy, and dare I say it?  Even our money for the sake of imitating the God that we know and love.  Better yet, the God who loves us. 

So, here’s a little exercise for today.  Whenever you encounter another person today, practice asking questions as you focus on that person.  What is happening in their life today?  What are they looking forward to?  What have they just been through? 

Learning how to be an imitator, 
Pastor Karl