Imitators of grace

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

Be imitators of God, as beloved children. I love this statement because it helps us to understand God’s purpose for man from the very beginning. The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman in His own image in order to fellowship with us. God created us to imitate Him, and to imitate His goodness. However, Satan tempted us to take it a step further. Satan suggested to Eve that knowing the difference between good and evil would make them not imitators of God’s goodness, but it would make them like gods themselves. Instead of imitating, mankind attempted to become like God.

The problem with our new found knowledge is that we were left to our own devices of how to be good. This is where the law steps in. Archaeologists have found that ancient man and ancient civilizations strove to define good behavior through the law. Since the beginning of civilization, every generation of man has been defined and governed by law. God has shown us, by allowing us to govern ourselves, that we can never be like Him just because we know the difference between good and evil. This is why God sent His son to us. Jesus was a man whom we could imitate. We can imitate His goodness and love.