Imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

My children are grown up. I had forgotten the delightful game of "monkey-see, monkey-do" that children grasp so readily. But recently I was in a restaurant in a booth adjacent to a young toddler .... he was finished with his meal and was scoping out the crowd and we made eye contact..... My broad smile must have been the signal: Let the game begin.

Quite honestly, as the game progressed, I'm not sure who was in the lead.... because sometimes my facial expressions mirrored his... and sometimes his gestures mimicked mine. Until the game ended, our attention was fixed upon each other...and quite honestly, I was the one who ended it....after all, I had more "adult" things to do. (Right?)

One thing for sure....you can't imitate somebody without being in relationship with them. God reaches out to each of us, as beloved children. God approaches us and whispers away whatever fear we may have, smiling at us with Love. And then, Paul says, we are to consent to let the game begin!

We imitate God... We love...and we offer forgiveness and compassion to others because God does extends love, forgiveness and utter compassion to us first.

Wow...

Let the imitation begin!