9-17-13 “Options”
Ephesians 5:1
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Before someone lets God change their life, they only have one way of thinking, only one way they know, only one way they behave. But the Word of God and the Life of Jesus changes everything because now we have options.
BC (Before Christ) all a person knows is a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions according to 1 John 2:16. And the problem with these things is that they fade away (v. 17).
But the things of God are eternal, never disappoint, and do not disappear. 2 Corinthians 4:18 confirms: For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
How important it is for me to trust the One who has seen what I haven’t yet seen? He knows all that I do not yet know. He understands all that I don’t even yet fathom. If I rely only on all I see and know, I’ll miss out on so much. In fact, it’d be outright dangerous for me.
Where else in life would a person apply absolute faith-less-ness? I have never seen exactly how an antibiotic goes after a germ under a microscope, I take the guy’s in the lab coat word for it. These type of things are on uTube, I’m sure, but I’m too busy or lazy to check it out for myself. I have faith that some smart people have figured all that out for me. I accept the medicine that will fight infection NOT based on my own knowledge or experience, no problem.
Likewise, I have faith that God has figured things out for me. He doesn’t need to prove it on a uTube video, I probably wouldn’t watch it anyway. When you just know that someone has worked it out, you let them.
So, if God’s Word tells me to simply imitate God in everything (I) do, then ok. I don’t have to copy that behaviors and customs of regular people (Romans 12:2). All they know is their own physical pleasure and achievements, remember? But God, who sees what I don’t, offers options. His way based on his infinite wisdom vs. my way based on not much. I can let God transform (me) into a new person by changing the way (I) think and become one who imitates HIM because I am his dearly loved child.
And that because you are his dear children phrase makes me think of one more thing...
Almost every single adopted child I’ve met has physical characteristics of their adoptive parents. They unintentionally adopt the behaviors, mannerisms, and even facial expressions of the parents who gave them a family and a home, not the parents who brought them into the world.
This has always fascinated me. Twentysomething years ago, I was a nanny for a little boy named Bradley. No one could tell the parents he lived with since his birth weren’t his biological parents. His face mimicked and imitated the ones who loved and cared for him. His inquisitive look looked just like his dad’s and his smile looked just like his mom’s. He couldn’t help looking and acting like them even if he tried.
I want my face, my habits, and my ways to imitate the One who loves me most too!
Dear God,
I thank you so much for options. I thank you that I can imitate YOU and your ways through your Son and by the power of your Holy Spirit. I thank you so much that you are reliable; you see what I don’t. You know best. I must obey your Word; acting on my own is only from my limited scope. But you have my best interest at heart. Help me to simply imitate your Son, to change the way I think, and to not crave my own desires and possessions like those with no options do. I love you and pray in your Son’s name. Amen.
Ephesians 5:1
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Before someone lets God change their life, they only have one way of thinking, only one way they know, only one way they behave. But the Word of God and the Life of Jesus changes everything because now we have options.
BC (Before Christ) all a person knows is a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions according to 1 John 2:16. And the problem with these things is that they fade away (v. 17).
But the things of God are eternal, never disappoint, and do not disappear. 2 Corinthians 4:18 confirms: For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
How important it is for me to trust the One who has seen what I haven’t yet seen? He knows all that I do not yet know. He understands all that I don’t even yet fathom. If I rely only on all I see and know, I’ll miss out on so much. In fact, it’d be outright dangerous for me.
Where else in life would a person apply absolute faith-less-ness? I have never seen exactly how an antibiotic goes after a germ under a microscope, I take the guy’s in the lab coat word for it. These type of things are on uTube, I’m sure, but I’m too busy or lazy to check it out for myself. I have faith that some smart people have figured all that out for me. I accept the medicine that will fight infection NOT based on my own knowledge or experience, no problem.
Likewise, I have faith that God has figured things out for me. He doesn’t need to prove it on a uTube video, I probably wouldn’t watch it anyway. When you just know that someone has worked it out, you let them.
So, if God’s Word tells me to simply imitate God in everything (I) do, then ok. I don’t have to copy that behaviors and customs of regular people (Romans 12:2). All they know is their own physical pleasure and achievements, remember? But God, who sees what I don’t, offers options. His way based on his infinite wisdom vs. my way based on not much. I can let God transform (me) into a new person by changing the way (I) think and become one who imitates HIM because I am his dearly loved child.
And that because you are his dear children phrase makes me think of one more thing...
Almost every single adopted child I’ve met has physical characteristics of their adoptive parents. They unintentionally adopt the behaviors, mannerisms, and even facial expressions of the parents who gave them a family and a home, not the parents who brought them into the world.
This has always fascinated me. Twentysomething years ago, I was a nanny for a little boy named Bradley. No one could tell the parents he lived with since his birth weren’t his biological parents. His face mimicked and imitated the ones who loved and cared for him. His inquisitive look looked just like his dad’s and his smile looked just like his mom’s. He couldn’t help looking and acting like them even if he tried.
I want my face, my habits, and my ways to imitate the One who loves me most too!
Dear God,
I thank you so much for options. I thank you that I can imitate YOU and your ways through your Son and by the power of your Holy Spirit. I thank you so much that you are reliable; you see what I don’t. You know best. I must obey your Word; acting on my own is only from my limited scope. But you have my best interest at heart. Help me to simply imitate your Son, to change the way I think, and to not crave my own desires and possessions like those with no options do. I love you and pray in your Son’s name. Amen.
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