All throughout my life, people have told me that I remind them of my dad. “You look like him,” “You sound like him,” “You have the same mannerisms as your dad.” (You name it, I’ve heard it!) People who have known me my entire life will sometimes call me Michael because of our similarities. Though I was slightly annoyed by the continual comparisons to my dad in the past, I have now grown to love hearing those words. Seeing the man my dad is, his heart for the Lord and teaching His word, I am inspired to be more like him. It is one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive!
When we think about the likeness we have to our parents, it is something that people can visibly see within us. It is immediately recognizable as being like our parents. The question is, can people see our likeness to our Heavenly Father? At the beginning of Ephesians 5, Paul commands the Ephesians, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (5:1-2). What exactly is involved in being an imitator of God? The Greek word for imitate (μιμητής) is where we get the English word “mimic”—copying or acting in the same way as someone else. To be true imitators of God, we must act in the same way that He acts. We must begin to do the things that our Father does. We must begin showing love toward one another that proves that we put each other before ourselves as He has. We must begin to show mercy and forgiveness toward those who deserve it because of the mercy and forgiveness He offers to us. The list could go on forever. We should make it obvious that we are trying to be like our Heavenly Father in everything that we do. Why? Because we are His beloved children.
Though we are individuals with our own unique personality and character traits, there is a likeness to our God that should be seen in us. The question is, however, can people see Him in us? As we are going about our day-to-day lives, do the people we come into contact with think or even say that we remind them of God? Can our co-workers, friends, neighbors, even family see that we are trying to be like God in our lives? As Christians, this should be one of our most significant goals and achievements. This next week, I challenge all of us to ask ourselves how we can be more like our Father. Whether it be in how we handle situations, how we treat each other or the people we come into contact with, let’s all work to “be imitators of God as beloved children” in a way that people can recognize it. The greatest blessing we could ever have is being called children of God—Let’s show the world that we are like our Father!