Imitation
“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). At first glance, this sounds like a nice bumper sticker or refrigerator magnet (do people still use those anymore?) but the deeper truth here is quite profound. It’s easy to look at a tree or a mountain and recognize Somebody had to have created those, but the fact that we have the capacity to love is only a part of our experience because God first loved us.
I’m stepping into that stage where my friends are welcoming little ones into the world. It’s so fun to see how fast they’re growing and learning. I was with one of my buddy’s kids the other week and we were playing with some his toys together. He grabbed his firetruck and slammed the ladder down on top of the truck and I said, “boom.” He proceeded to slam the ladder down and this time he said, “boom” with me. He imitated me.
This only took a try or two and suddenly he’d learned a completely new way, sorry Russ, to use his toy. This is a trivial parallel, but we don’t grow out of that stage of imitation. We, as humans, are looking for someone or something to follow and to be like. Paul says, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
There are two things to note here. First, the only way we can imitate God is because He chose to first come down and interact with us. Had He made the world and left it to spin on its own, there would be no way to imitate Him. Secondly, since God has come down and interacted with us, we have a responsibility to know what God was like. How did Jesus live His life? What is the character and nature of God? The more we know about Him the more we are able to live like Him.
Jesus, talking to His disciples said, “There is no greater love than for one to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Jesus didn’t just talk about it – it’s exactly what He did. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is how God showed us what love is.
Jesus also says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is our example of what it looks like to live and to love well. He didn’t write a list of 10 to-do’s in bullet form to have the life you want, He showed us by His actions and by His words. He gave us a real-life example to follow.
The charge I want to leave us with today is this: we are all imitating someone or something. Do you know who and what that person is? For some, it’s an athlete. For others, it’s a parent or a mentor. There is no safer person to practice towards than to imitate Jesus. The very first step is to know what He is like. We do this by reading His Word. I’d encourage you, friend, read through a Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). Let that be your starting place if you’re unsure. Then prayerfully ask the Lord, “where specifically would You like me to start imitating You?” We are all becoming somebody, who is it that you’re becoming like today?
