Imitation
They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, well I suppose if someone would rather be you than themselves that sort of makes you better, then that most likely would puff up the ego, till it dawned on you that most likely they need help desperately in my case. Who would you imitate, for a preacher Martin Luther, Wesley or Spurgen? You are wishing I could imitate those more closely right now aren’t you! Or would you rather follow a celebrity or who? I think this need to imitate is a deep rooted thing, a need for acceptance to be part of a group to blend in is deep in us all. I often travel the world, to often to be honest. This year alone its been USA 5 times, Australia 3 times and NZ twice and ah yes Japan once as well. I enjoy visiting different lands but I do find it interesting that I have this need to blend in to not stand out to not seem different, its is easy for me in America, Australia and NZ similar profile and with a slight change in twang, but then there was Japan, for some reason not that easy must be the accent!
To be a Christian
How many Christians seek to fit in to blend in with the crowd with the world, not wanting to be different, wanting to be accepted to the point were they hide their identity choosing to hide the light from the world. But that’s not what we are called to be, I would say not what Jesus died for so lets discover what it might mean to be like Jesus to live like him
To live like Jesus in a foreign land and show those around us what and who Jesus is. Why is this important?
Consider the Church as the body of Christ and consider that God sent Jesus as a human to show humanity himself, he did not act to fit in he came and acted as God on this earth. We the church are called to act like Jesus to show the world what and who Jesus is like
But we the Church as a whole don’t necessarily show Jesus, we show religion, judgement, rules, regulations and wonder why the world does not smash down our doors on a Sunday morning to get in and have some as well
There are some in the Church who gladly stand out be separate, even seek it as they feel they are chosen and better than the other parts of the body, not really wanting to be of the same body in truth, definitely holy and right, have rituals, will be selective as to who they let in, perhaps think themselves better that others and thank God that they are different as they hide behind veils of religion and wonder why the world does not want to imitate them
How it must pain God to see the distorted vision of his beloved son we the church sometimes gives the world, which is in pain groaning with the rest of creation desperate for a saving love only a saviour can bring. So time to get the mirror out!
Imitators of God
Who should we imitate, in the text we read it says:
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. What are the key attributes of God, how do we created things try and live like God almighty, Well, lets start with some key facts about God:
God is Love
God is Holy
God loves justice
God loves mercy
God loves truth
God hates pride
This is only a small fraction and I would never dream of claiming to understand God or being able to define him. What we are talking about is a holy life a life of personal morality in our pursuit of striving to be like Jesus. Why is important, consider if the Church is the body of Christ then any ways that do not show Jesus do not honour the body or even make it weak or diseased certainly not showing Jesus the way he lived
Path of Holiness
Let me explore another angle then, We are called to imitate God, to do this we must walk a path of holiness, be holy because I am holy we are told by God
This choosing to keep ourselves pure, pure in thought and deed, we must if we aspire to be like Jesus as he was. Not an easy path, a very difficult path but it is the way to being human as God meant us to be
You see God does care about the minute details of our lives, about everything cares how we think, cares about what we watch, the websites we linger on, the music we listen to, the way we spend our money, the way we spend our time, our attitudes, our sexuality and how we express it, how much we drink, the drugs we take and on it goes. You see all of life is a gift a precious and dear gift from God. We all will be asked someday to account for what we did with that gift, how did we use it for what purpose? Jesus told us the greatest purpose for our lives, which can be summed up “love one another”. You see the greatest aspect of God we need to imitate and to make the root of all other aspects of our being is Love. True holiness is true love as God is total love, if God was not 100% love then he would cease to be God. So if we are Children of God we can’t play or seek the dark ways of our past before Jesus came and switched on the light bulb in our lives and Jesus promised when we give our lives to him, he lives in our hearts. So when we go to do things in secret that we are ashamed about, think no one else knows about, guess who was there to, yep Jesus. I am not here to condemn, for I would need to start with me first, call me sinner. But even though I am a sinner, I know I can say sorry come to the Lord in repentance and receive Grace, Mercy basically in English have my slate wiped clean, again. The path of Holiness is a thin one and it is easy to get lost
Beware the path of the Pharisee
Consider the way of the Pharisee. The Pharisee’s most likely started as very Godly people but ended as enemies of God. The Pharisees key focus was a belief that the fate of Israel was due to the sinful nature of the population and the never ending occupations by the Babylonians, the Assyrians and lastly the Romans was a manifestation of Gods judgement, so they were on a mission to rectify that and save their nation by being holier than holy. They believed they were destined and chosen by God for this purpose. Good intentions but this passion for perfection this single mindedness drove them to as place far from God
If you had asked Peter, Andrew, John or any of the Apostles say a week before Jesus came into their lives who they would class as the holy and God like ones
They would have pointed to the Pharisee’s in the synagogue. Imagine their shock when Jesus came and he told the same Pharisee’s that they were the first in line for going to hell, strong and shocking, they must have been thinking what are you sure Jesus look at the size of their prayer boxes, the tassels on their robes, look how often they fast look how they wash, they are always praying and even strain the gnats out of their wine. They had many laws about not working or benefiting from any from of work on the Sabbath for example would not eat an egg laid on a Sabbath for fear of it counting as work by the hen! Jesus during his time on earth was always going against the religious ways the ways that did not imitate God
They hated Jesus for healing and delivering the afflicted and smitten on the Sabbath, God working before their own eyes and their response was rejection, it did not fit their laws. The Pharisees missed the point, got caught up so much in the minute details that they lost sight of the big picture, lost sight of God and stopped imitating him to show the world God.
Jesus vs. Religion
So we are called to imitate God or Jesus and not the Pharisee’s or the religious ways. What do I mean, lets consider Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach you see the point here Jesus did then preached it, we need to do the same. The Pharisee’s or religious have a different perspective as seen in Matthew 23:3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. You see the key difference, one is about doing the other is about telling others what they should be doing without necessarily do it
Jesus spent a significant time of his ministry coming against the religious ways of people and challenging their laws. Look at the parables, most are directed at the Pharisee’s. Take the parable of the prodigal son, yes the for us in our times most focus is on the son that sins and is restored, that’s a model for Gods saving redemptive love for us all, but in this context consider the elder brother, I would argue he is the religious one, the one standing saying I am better than him, I am chosen this isn’t fair and look who gets into the house to the feast and who is left outside, the younger forgiven brother is in at the right hand of the Father and the elder is outside still bleating on I am better, I get the rules I am the rules, this is not fair and so on see the point Jesus was making. The Pharisee’s took pride in how different they were how much “holier” they were and how they felt a chosen remnant to be used by God to save the nation. Luke 18: 9 – 14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Do you see the point here The religious holy person would have nothing to do with the sinful one, which one do you think Jesus would reach first, yes the sinner the tax collector and if you read the gospels that is precisely what Jesus was always doing mixing it with the sinners, the “unclean” sometimes even in the houses of the holy in the homes of the Pharisees, if you like to show them this is what I what you to be like, don’t be the elder brother, as you see from Gods view we are all sinners all not worthy all every single one of us. You see to have the right to judge you have to be sin free, you see if you judge sinners you also need to be prepared to pay the price to fee them from there sin. Jesus did, Jesus mixed with sinners became their friend before he became there saviour, did before he taught.
Condemnation vs. Light
This is a conflict between the old and the new testaments or covenants if you like, between the way of condemnation and the way of the spirit. This is about being set free in the spirit of God to become like God himself, that is why Jesus came to the earth to set us free to release us from the curse of sin and death and bring us life in abundance beyond all measure never ending. As it says: But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.“
This speaks of conversion of baptism being set free from our old likeness and being able to take up the likeness of Christ. To shine for Jesus in this dark world if you like to be his mirrors on earth to reflect his glory into the dark places. This translated in to current English would mean loving all people as God loves them. Simple as that God loves all, loves you, me and everyone we have ever met and seen, has no favourites hates none, excludes none all are precious and all have been given his greatest of gifts life and Jesus, all receive the former and have to chose to unpack the later to really receive the first gift of life in its fullest, it’s like getting the present of a battery powered toy on Christmas and a pack of batteries, you have to chose to but the batteries in to get the full on fun. There are no if’s not but’s no man made religious excuses for exclusion or repulsion All are loved by God and to be imitators of Jesus and God that’s what we have to do to Love all, yes even ourselves because God does.
Jesus said
Jesus said "Be careful not to do your ’acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” Matthew 6:1
We do not perform Holy” acts or make a big play as to how holy we are, how much better we think ourselves
If we want to be Jesus imitators lets consider this, many times Jesus went alone to pray, alone into the wilderness, alone in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus did not seek to impress men by standing up in front of the multitude leading the prayer, fasting for 40 days in public, no Jesus well knew that God knew and that was enough for Jesus. The key elements here are acting to seek a reward from God and also it is trusting the trustworthiness of God. Do I believe God sees the good I do when no one else does not. Can I live with that not getting other peoples acceptance? Would I rather go fishing for compliments, than just leaving in Gods hands, what did Jesus do, well you know. But this does not stop us doing good deeds in the full sight of all as long as the motive in our hearts is true if it is for God for his glory, happy that God will get all the credit, then go for it. The moment we stray from that even taking a little small piece of “I did this and that” to share a the home group, then we are not imitating God more imitating the Pharisee
In Mark Buchananan’s Book “Your God is too safe” he spells it out like this “ Our lives are ultimately cosmic dramas lived out in full view of God, his angels and for that matter, the devil and his angels” its true for all of us all of our lives
Consider Job’s suffering what was that about? well his friends and family had no clue and thought he was basically getting his just punishment for being a sinner, when in fact Job was innocent and was in fact the main role in a bet between God and the devil, which boiled down to if Job has free will and all these bad things happen to him, who will he imitate God (the light) or the devil (darkness), Job imitated God and stayed righteous, would we be the same?
So take off the mask and go…
So wanabe Jesus imitators what do we need to do be like him. Well its is all about Love, a love that would sacrifice all to save to save anyone and everyone
You see we cannot point the fingers at sinners as we to are sinners and most importantly you can’t unless you are prepared to pay the price to free them from their sin, Jesus was prepared to die still want to be like him? You see we don’t imitate Jesus by telling people how bad they are, the devil does that well enough. You see we don’t imitate Jesus by avoiding and excluding the filthy ones, Jesus never did that
You see we do imitate Jesus by being humble by just doing, helping and loving without ever expecting reward or compliment, Jesus always did that
You see we do imitate Jesus by showing his love, by walking in the truth that we are not better than anyone else that God loves all of us and all are his children, Jesus loves it when we do as he asked us to do. Then there is one last thing I would say for us to do to imitate Jesus in this world today
For some really big step, a massive sacrifice that may well require some counselling, practise, persistence and prayer. What is it, well smile for Jesus sake, get happy look happy be joyful and content in all circumstances, I’ll say “Always look on the bright side of life” If we look like we’ve been to a funeral after going to church or come back arguing and fighting, moaning and groaning, do you think your neighbours and families would want to come to Church, no they would rather go to the dentist than meet with Jesus. So get real, live the life of freedom that Jesus paid for and gives us freely, be happy, be happy smile for Gods sake, smile! Then we will be imitators of Jesus, then we can obey the command he gave to the man on the beach of the Gerasenes after the legion of demons were cast out of him, Jesus said: "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
Go on take Jesus with you and go with a smile and joy in your heart and give it all for the one who gave it all for us.
Worship in Spirit and Truth
The heart of what I have speaking to you today is true worship, praising God in all circumstances. You see the best way of keeping yourself from sin, from the paths of darkness that tempt us all is to worship God, it is the pursuit of holiness to obey the two great commandments which as Jesus said are;
Mark 12: 29 -31 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.‘ There is no commandment greater than these."
You see when we follow these commandments all else will fall into place, this is worshiping in spirit and truth, you need the power of the Holy Spirit to keep you in this truth, it can’t be done by our will alone it is a true gift from God, it is the gift the brings true life in Christ. When we seek this truth of loving God with our all and loving everyone around us as our selves, then we imitate Jesus, then we are like him
Then we bring light into darkness, hope into despair, justice, truth and mercy were evils reigns and we walk the walk of Gods kingdom here on earth. Then we truly shows the Church as the body of Christ, as the love of God here on earth then and only then do we truly imitate God as Jesus did and show those in darkness the true redemptive love and give them the truth and hope of a saviour who is their waiting with arms open, then we show love has come down and rescued us, his name is Jesus. Go tell of what he has done for you, how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you and do as he asks “Love One another”
Amen
