Anything that God has given to us, it is first to do a work in us and then a work in His kingdom. He is using us to be His ambassadors and therefore we have to imitate the grace of God (Ephesians 4:17-32). The grace of God is not the work of man.
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2
We know that God came as a man in Christ so that we could identify with Him. He was like us and came to save us from our sin and through that work we can identify with Him. So the grace of God requires that we walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). We need to be obedient and to seek to please God if we are to be imitators of Him. In this way, we respond to His grace the way that He would have us to.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
The grace of God has given us the right and privilege to imitate Him. When you spend time around someone, you end up mimicking them and what God requires of us, is that we mimic Him. When we mimic God, we may not get it right all the time, but there needs to be something in the midst of us that gets it right. Ask yourself daily if you mimic God. He tells us to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving of each other and so on, but do we mimic God in the various places that we go? When we do, we show each other God. It is from the fountain of God’s grace that we draw. His grace is the fountain of His love. Therefore we are reconciling the world through the grace of God being tangibly expressed through us His children (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).
We Must Ask Ourselves
1. Did we say something to a person that caused them to experience more than what they are currently experiencing?
2. Where would we be if Christ had not done what He was supposed to do?
3. Where will someone on your street be if you do not introduce them to God through
imitating Him?
4. What sacrifices are we making?
5. Are we willing to be ambassadors of the One who went to the Cross?
6. Is our love for mankind, for our brothers being shown?
7. Through the grace of God we can do it.
8. Is our life a sweet smelling aroma?
9. Are we able to take this grace that has been lavished upon us and cause others to be drawn to Christ?
How can we imitate the grace of God and impact family members who do not know Christ? We do this by mimicking His character. Your character is something that is precious and it is what is really important. We are able to trust God because of His character and we are to mimic Him and develop in Him, character, so that our word can be trusted. We are to allow Him to work in us through His grace. He is a God of humility, love and meekness.
Where is the light of the Church? The world needs our light. Do we let it shine at church and then when we get out in the world, no one can see it? Being pure about our concept of God is necessary. Until we are pure about our concept of God, then we will not have the impact that we are supposed to have. This simply means that if we have not grasped the true concept of who God is, then we cannot impact others. Is our character one that draws others to God? Our representation of God has to be worthy and authentic. We have to be mindful of the things that we say and the way that we act. Our motives have to be pure and we have to seek to glorify God. Will our actions glorify God or the devil? Our obligation should be one that is concerned with pleasing God Himself rather than man. Many times if we examine our actions, we have sought to please man and not God. The world knows who God is through the lives of people that we have touched. We rebuke others who would say that we are not sincere, not through words, but through letting our lives reflect that God is in us.
We should not embrace God’s grace, walk in it and not do what He calls us to do. The world knows who the cults are through the one they follow. Let the world see that the One who saved us, is in us. There are some of us who have records of wrong, but we need to put them under the grace of God so that we can be set free. When you are bound up and tied up and knotted up, you know that you have unforgiveness in your heart.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
Greater love has no man than this, than that he laid down his life for his friends. If you do not do what God commands you, then what does the Scripture say? God says that we are His friends when we obey Him. So we are friends of God when we walk in obedience and in His love (John 15:13-14). We walk in the peace of God when we are imitators of God (John 14:27). Peace I leave with you, my peace do I give unto you. So because I am an ambassador of God and I am an imitator of His character, taking it where ever I go to establish His kingdom, I have God’s peace so where there is disunity and strife, we bring peace.
Philippians 4:4 tells us how to activate the power of God by rejoicing in the Lord. Let your gentleness be shown to all men because in this way, it is clear that God is at hand. Being kind, tenderhearted, forgiving to others is an indicator to others of God. God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9). So we cannot say that God is faithful if we do not imitate His character; if our “yes” is not “yes” or our “no” is not “no.”
1 Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to abstain from every form of evil. Ambassadors need to discipline themselves because they realize that they represent a kingdom. Self-discipline restrains us and holds us back from impulsive actions that cause us to live in regret. Our God is a just and fair God. James 2:4 says that when we show partiality among ourselves, we become judges with evil thoughts. So we need to make sure that we do not show partiality. His grace in us precludes us from showing partiality to others and having favourites.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8
When Jesus showed servanthood, He showed that He was able to meet the needs of the people. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but took the heart of a servant. When others see the heart of a servant in us, they see God. Christ knew what His purpose was in the earth and was able to accomplish it through humility. Humility is the very thing that will cause us to accomplish purpose. Have we connected with the grace of God in our individual lives and stepped out to be God’s ambassadors and accomplished the specific purpose that we have been sent here for?
So seek to imitate His love, peace, kindness, faithfulness, self-control, fairness and humility.
