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 5:1-2)

Etched in my mind is a picture of my little girl when she was only a year or two old.  She was standing in her cute little onesie outfit in my shoes.  My saddle loafers were nearly as long as she was tall.  Even thinking about it today puts a smile on my face.  She just wanted to be like her daddy.

Here’s my point.  Isn’t God telling us to “put on His shoes” in Ephesians 5 and to walk in love?  But what does that love look like?  Anybody have a picture of that?  Glad you asked.  Right here in Ephesians 5:2, we have the picture.  His Name is Jesus.  He is the model for us to imitate the Father.

Look closely at the picture.  Do you see Him?  His life was characterized by self-sacrifice.  Wow!  There’s a foreign concept.  In our world of self-gratification, self-identity, self-fulfillment, is this radical picture of what it looks like to imitate our heavenly Father.  Talk about a photo bomb!

Can I challenge you to slip on your Father’s shoes and walk in love today?  Ok, I’m in, but where does that lead?  Once again, I’m glad you asked.  God knew we needed a path.  So, His Word lights up that path.  In Ephesians 4 He defines His path:  no lying, no stealing, get rid of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander.  Instead, walk in kindness which requires us to forgive one another.  In Ephesians 5 He further defines His path:  no sexual immorality, no impurity, or covetousness, and watch your mouth.

But what does that path have to do with walking in love.  Look closely at that picture again.  The things that belong outside the path of love are actions of selfishness, not self-sacrifice.  To practice those forbidden practices is not loving.  Those practices use other people for our own selfish desires.  That is not walking in love.  That doesn’t look like Jesus.  That doesn’t imitate the Father.

Can I ask one more question?  That path looks hard.  And, let’s be honest, walking in God’s shoes is no small, easily accomplished task.  Right?  So why even attempt to imitate the Father and walk in love?  Ok, so I’m glad you asked that too.  Ephesians 4:32 – God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 5:1 – God names you His beloved children.  Ephesians 5:2 – to imitate God and walk in love (God is love, 1 John 4:16) is to make Him smile.  Jesus offered Himself to His Father as a fragrant offering.  We get to do no less, (Romans 12:1-2)!  Can you even imagine that your heavenly Father delights in you, His beloved child?!

By His grace, imitating my Father,
Pastor Karl