You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22).
I am the proud father to three beautiful girls. My paternity is plain as day. There is no denying it. You can’t look at any of them and not see my features in them, for better or worse. They look like three little “mini-me’s.” They are not only like me in appearance; they share my traits as well. Maggie share’s my love for superheroes. Anna shares my artistic ability. Rachel shares my sense of humor and love of fun. There is no doubt they are my girls.
We were created by the Father to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). Our sinful nature makes it impossible to do this. So God set forth a plan to redeem us and make it possible for us to be imitators of Him. He sent His Son Jesus to become one of us, live a perfect life, and offer Himself willingly as a sacrifice in our place. What Jesus purchased for us with His obedience was the Holy Spirit, who applies Christ’s righteousness to our account (justification), and then works in us to transform our hearts and minds so that we more and more exhibit the moral excellence, the holiness of God (sanctification) in our lives.
The question is, when people look at us, do they see God’s likeness in us? Does the way we relate to our spouse, our children, and our friends, show who our heavenly Father is to them? Do our attitudes, likes, dislikes, habits show that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ?
In what ways do you think your life is a good imitation of Christ?
What is one way you would like to become more like Christ? What is one thing you could do this week to begin working on that?
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 