Be Ye Therefore Imitators of God

The Bible clearly states that GOD IS LOVE! Thirteen books back toward the front of your Bible you will run headlong into the epistle of Paul written to the Ephesians. It just so happens that Ephesians is the pinnacle of doctrinal revelation given to the church of grace to which you and I belong.

As you wade through this epistle you will immediately begin to see, that as believers we are supposed to be followers of God. The word “followers” is an interesting word, for in the Greek it is the word mimetes which literally means “imitator”. Think of children wanting to emulate and imitate their parents. That’s what this word means! God doesn’t want us following Him around like a puppy, He wants us to imitate Him and tells us exactly that in Ephesians 5:1.

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;”

From my observations over many years it seems as though many who identify as Christians have acquired a crazy notion that somehow, instead of being a requirement, love is an option, an add on, like tinted windows, cruise control or leather seats.

When Jesus was present here on earth, he commanded the first century believers to love God with ALL their hearts, souls, and minds! If history is any indication I’d say they absolutely did not heed the teaching, because right up to the present day man has failed miserably at this task as evidenced by two thousand years of travesties conducted in the name of God. 

 Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.

We have also pretty much turned a blind eye to the arguably easier task of loving one another. Something Jesus also spoke of around the same time. 

 John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

The only thing mankind has been consistently good at loving, is himself, but Jesus never mentioned anything about that.

In unrepentant ignorance, improperly schooled believers in the present day fail to recognize this and therefore can’t correct it. They choose instead to live in what can only be described as blind hypocrisy. They go to their local church and stay weak. They are anemic and powerless, having been taught tradition instead of truth.

Let’s you and I take a stroll together through the section of scripture that Jesus so eloquently delivered that long ago day. It is the same section, I might also add, that mankind has had such a wearisome time mastering. Keep in mind as we read that our Heavenly Father will never ask us to perform anything that is outside of our ability to execute successfully. On one hand that would be cruel and on the other it would be fruitless for both us and for God. So get that kind thought out of your noggin. If God asks you to do something...anything...you must possess the ability to do it! It really boils down to be this, are we willing to carry it out? ,Not having the willingness is the crux of this issue.

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Jesus is basically reminding his audience that this love your neighbor thing is not something brand new. In fact he acquired this handy bit of information straight from the scrolls in Leviticus 19:18, which shows that this idea of loving your neighbor had already been around for a long time:

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I [am] the LORD.”

I’m pretty sure everyone in attendance that day already knew this and probably hadn’t practiced it any better than anyone else down through the centuries. For whatever reason, more than likely because God told him to, Jesus is reminding them of what they already knew. 

You’ll notice that Jesus didn’t say to “hate thine enemy”! He said, “Ye have heard it hath been said...” and that’s exactly what you find in Leviticus 19:18...I  have looked from one end of the Bible to the other and the phrase “hate thine enemy” only occurs right here in Matthew 5:43. The people of that day may have heard this but Jesus is about to set them straight.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Not only are we NOT supposed to hate our enemies, we are also instructed to bless them, do good to them and pray for them. He then goes on in verse 45-48 to explain why they would be wise to do this.

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The foregoing is nothing more and nothing less, than unconditional love! That is how God loves and it’s how we should love.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

It’s a piece of cake to love those who reciprocate the love. What reward is there in that? A rhetorical question I know, but the bigger truth is that we are instructed to love all and loving the unlovable will always provide a challenge. God’s command says nothing about excluding anyone based on any criteria. It simply says to DO IT!

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?

Jesus keeps referring to “publicans” who were tax collectors for the Roman government. They were notoriously dishonest and in the current context they would not have treated all men the same but would have shown great favoritism to some and been brutal with others. Hence the mention here in the context of unconditional love.

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The word “perfect” means to be complete with nothing lacking. Of course God is complete but we are to imitate Him so that we lack nothing.

Finally, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus reiterates yet again this lesson regarding love.

Luke 6:27-28

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Love God, love your neighbor and love your enemy! Jesus didn’t direct us to choose which one we wanted to do. His command was that we do ALL THREE!

Can you just imagine for a moment what kind of world we would be living in right now if everyone chose to carry out this simple command?

We absolutely DO have the ability because God says so! It is truly unfortunate that so many lack the willingness to carry it out. But there can be little doubt that if it were being done, we would not be saddled with the problems we currently face. It would be a radically, amazingly, unbelievably wonderful place where love isn’t just another four-letter word!

If it’s ever gonna get done, we’ve got to quit waiting for the other guy to do it! Why not make your own command decision right NOW to start living that level of love in all that you do. Because love is not optional it is mandatory!