EPHESIANS 5

  1. Therefore, be imitators of God – copy Him and follow His example – as well-beloved children imitate their father.
  2. And walk in love – esteeming and delighting in one another – as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God for you, so that it became a sweet fragrance.

We must have a personal relationship with the Lord if we are to imitate Him. When we experience firsthand how He has reacted to us in our trials and in our failures, it becomes ingrained in our soul. There is nothing like His love and mercy on this earth. We are so undeserving of His goodness and yet He loves to pour it out upon us.

When you have tasted His forgiveness and love, only then are we equipped to give it to others who are equally undeserving. He is always teaching us compassion. It is not in our nature to walk in His love. It is something we must learn. We all have human love which is so different from His love.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy; is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

5. It is not conceited – arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it – and pays no attention to a suffered wrong.

There is enough there to pray about. How can we not pay attention to it when someone backstabs us or spreads lies. That is what is so miraculous about God’s love. It is miracle working power. We have no ability on our own. We must be filled with His Holy Spirit and allow the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our heart.

We must let go of selfishness and self-seeking. That is one thing about prayer. It teaches us to get our eyes on others needs and off of our own. Self has to die. When we walk in His love, we must imitate Him. He is the only One who loves that way. And as we taste it, we are to give it out to others.

One example of His love is in John 21. After Jesus died, the disciples went fishing. They were out all night and caught nothing. I am sure they were remembering when they were out before and caught nothing, and Jesus came along and told them to cast their nets out again. And when they did, they made a great haul. I am sure their hearts were yearning for Jesus.

So, what happens? Jesus shows up and does the same thing. He is so good and loves us so. He knows what we need and is always there giving us more than enough. That is the love we are to imitate. We are to discern our brothers and sisters’ heartache and do our best to ease their pain.

Dear Lord Jesus, help us to imitate you by loving our family in Christ. Teach us your ways and help us to follow them. Change us to love like you. We thank you for your great love you have poured out for us!

💝SONGS – HOW GREAT YOU ARE – HOW GREAT THOU ART – THE BLESSING SONG – CFNI

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