Eph. 5:1-2
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
i was leading my high school life group last night and we read this verse above. i don't know why i cant get it out of my head. "Be imitators of God". what does that truly mean? when i think of this, i just get discouraged, in all honestly. be imitators of Christ? how can i, sinful me, be a true imitator of the Christ? do i think its possible for us to be imitators? yes. is it easy? heck no.
i love how C.S. Lewis describes this. if we were to be imitators of Christ, we are to basically be pretending to be like Him. i know what you are thinking, "Justin...really? Pretend? like we are pretending to play house or cops and robbers?" well yes actually. Lewis explains that there are two types of pretending. there is the pretending in a bad way, as in a man pretends that he is going to help but but then really doesn't. and there is a good pretending like how children pretend to play house because it is pretending that is leading up to the real thing.
i know this about me, when i am not in a good mood and i am in a public setting where i don't really want to talk to anyone but i know I'm going to have to, i put on a smile and pretend like I'm in a great mood. eventually, i will then be in a genuinely good mode because i first pretended to be. it rubbed off. this is the same with Christ and how we imitate Him.
when we are praying like how Christ prayed, we are "pretending" (in a way) to be like Him. when we treat others like how Christ treated others and we "pretend" to be like Him, we eventually become like Him. Lewis describes it as a "good infection", where if we are infected with Christ, and we are out being imitators of who Christ is and represents, then the infection WILL spread.
so my question is...am i doing this? i know i have this "good infection" but am i spreading it? am i honestly trying to be an imitator of who Jesus is? or am i just living my life and maybe Jesus will come in and out with my doings.
i love how C.S. Lewis describes this. if we were to be imitators of Christ, we are to basically be pretending to be like Him. i know what you are thinking, "Justin...really? Pretend? like we are pretending to play house or cops and robbers?" well yes actually. Lewis explains that there are two types of pretending. there is the pretending in a bad way, as in a man pretends that he is going to help but but then really doesn't. and there is a good pretending like how children pretend to play house because it is pretending that is leading up to the real thing.
i know this about me, when i am not in a good mood and i am in a public setting where i don't really want to talk to anyone but i know I'm going to have to, i put on a smile and pretend like I'm in a great mood. eventually, i will then be in a genuinely good mode because i first pretended to be. it rubbed off. this is the same with Christ and how we imitate Him.
when we are praying like how Christ prayed, we are "pretending" (in a way) to be like Him. when we treat others like how Christ treated others and we "pretend" to be like Him, we eventually become like Him. Lewis describes it as a "good infection", where if we are infected with Christ, and we are out being imitators of who Christ is and represents, then the infection WILL spread.
so my question is...am i doing this? i know i have this "good infection" but am i spreading it? am i honestly trying to be an imitator of who Jesus is? or am i just living my life and maybe Jesus will come in and out with my doings.
1 John 2:7-8
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
Jesus lived the truth of this commandment and we are supposed to be imitators of Him. it says that if we do live like this, pretend in a way to be like Christ, we will end up acting like Him more naturally without even thinking about it, and the darkness will be disappearing and the true light of the "good infection" of Christ will shine. once that light shines, people will be attracted to it like moths on a dark night on a porch light. it will be something irresistible for being not wanting to have this "good infection".
i want to "pretend" to act like Jesus so i can end up acting like Him more genuinely.
Random Fact: A group of jellyfish is called a smack.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
Jesus lived the truth of this commandment and we are supposed to be imitators of Him. it says that if we do live like this, pretend in a way to be like Christ, we will end up acting like Him more naturally without even thinking about it, and the darkness will be disappearing and the true light of the "good infection" of Christ will shine. once that light shines, people will be attracted to it like moths on a dark night on a porch light. it will be something irresistible for being not wanting to have this "good infection".
i want to "pretend" to act like Jesus so i can end up acting like Him more genuinely.
Random Fact: A group of jellyfish is called a smack.
Very insightful! I think that it's true that if he have the mind of Christ we will be more like him. Is it easy? No! Christ did not come so that life would be easy--he came because God wanted to save us, but I think additionally, he came to help the marginalized and those in need of a physician (Matthew 9:12)
ReplyDelete