Devotional #24

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

~Ephesians 5:1 (NKJV)

Before we were Christians, we acted as the world does. But the Bible teaches us that we've been bought with a price, and that we are no longer our own. As Christians, we are a new creation, for the old has passed away and the new has come. We've been washed by the blood of the Lamb, have been sanctified(set apart) and we are now children of God through His blessed adoption. As Christians, we are to no longer resemble the world, with its passions, lusts and desires, but rather, we are to imitate God in every single area of our lives.

When Christ was on earth, 2 of His attributes that were so very clearly seen in Him were His love and His servanthood. We are to show love towards everyone. We are to be kind to them, pray for them, and love them. We are to bless those who curse us and pray for those who persecute us, but we will be unable to obey these commands if we don't show them love, and have love for them in our hearts. We're to love both our enemies and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our Lord once said while He was on earth that He didn't come to serve but to be a servant. This showed His humbleness. There is one passage in Scripture where it talks about the Lord washing His disciples' feet. Today, that wouldn't be such a huge, amazing thing, as it was back then, for we all have shoes. But back in Bible times, there were no cars and most walked barefoot or with sandles (and even these didn't cover the person's whole foot). There were no paved roads to walk on, but rather the disciples and others during Christ's day walked for miles on dusty, muddy, dirt filled roads. So, you can imagine the condition of their feet when Jesus cleaned them! Yet, He didn't care. He willingly and gladly cleaned their dirty feet. Now, you must ask yourself the following question: "Would I be willing to do that?" Would you be willing to wash dirty feet like that? Perhaps that's not the particular act of service that the Lord is calling you to do. But at times there are acts of service that are less than fun that we must perform if we want to be like Christ. Are you willing to do these? If not, ask that the Lord will cultivate in you a spirit of humbleness. As Christians, there is perhaps nothing more that the Lord absolutely hates to see in us than a prideful, haughty and boasting spirit! He despises such things! As imitators of God, we must be humble and have servant's hearts.

When people see you, perhaps people that you don't even know, can they look at you and automatically know that there's something different about you compared to the lost people of the world? Can they just look at you, see your smile and joy, and know that you have Christ? Can they see your acts of service and your love towards the less than lovable and know that you are a child of God? If you're a Christian, the answer to all of these questions should be "yes"! If you can't really answer yes to some of these, ask the Lord that He would work in you and through you, making and shaping you into a real imitator of Christ!