Imitate God
Preached August 10, 2003
Someone once said, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Any parent knows this is true. You’re out in the garage, carefully pounding some nails in that dresser you’ve been refurbishing. As anybody with any wood working sense knows, you must be very careful pounding those finishing nails in lest you put a gaudy dent in your final product. Suddenly, you hear pounding next to you. There’s your son with the same expression of deep concentration as you have on your face, tongue out the side of his mouth, with a hammer in his hand. He’s beating the tar out of your dresser. He says, “Look, daddy, I’m just like you.” Dents all over your masterpiece! You’re furious, yet flattered, because he wanted to be just like you. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The same is true when it comes to God. If you want to flatter God (worship him) there is no better way than imitating him. And, looking back over Ephesians, we can’t help but wanting to flatter God. Remember, he blessed us with every spiritual blessing; he chose us to be his children from eternity; he bought us back for himself in Jesus’ blood; he sealed us for heaven in Jesus; he made us alive when we were dead in sins; he saved us by grace; he made us citizens of heaven; he welcomes you into his presence at any time; he does immeasurably more than all you ask or imagine.
Last week in our lesson, Paul used the world as an example of what we should not do; today Paul gives us examples of what we should do to imitate and flatter the God who has done so much for us.
Eph 4:30 – 5:2 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 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. (NIV)
Let Go!
She was a girl with endless possibilities. She was great with people. She was beautiful. She was kind-hearted. She played the piano perfectly by ear. But she gave it all up. As my sister Amy drifted away from God and my parents, it filled their heart with ache. As she slept around, refused to get a job, lived with her boyfriend and married him without so much as an invitation to her family, it brought torrents of tears. When she got divorced after her baby was born, as she wandered around aimlessly without a job, as she told lies about her family and her past, my parents put on a brave face, but the grief only grew.
In our lesson, Paul tells us not to grieve God like that. You see, our bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and refusing to forgive all grieve God. They grieve him because a good Father hates to see his children hurt themselves and others. He knows how these awful attitudes destroy us and others. They ruin his church and get in the way of his work.
Are you harboring bitterness in your life? We all struggle with it. Maybe it’s family. Families sometimes seem to bring out the worst in us. I’ve said horribly insulting things to my brother I wouldn’t dream of saying to others. Familiarity often does breed contempt in this sinful world. Maybe it’s bitterness over a personality clash from years ago or differences of opinion. Maybe he talks about you behind your back; maybe she rubs you the wrong way or intimidates you. Maybe he sabotages everything you do. Maybe she doesn’t respect you. Maybe they have something you don’t like looks, popularity or money. Max Lucado writes, “Doesn’t someone owe you something? An apology? A second chance? A fresh start? An explanation? A thank you? A childhood? A marriage? Stop and think about it (which I don’t encourage you to do for long), and you can make a list of a lot of folks who are in your debt. Your parents should have been more protective. Your children should have been more appreciative. Your spouse should be more sensitive. Your preacher should have been more attentive.” (Great House of God, Lucado, p. 121) There’s always something to make us bitter.
That bitterness grieves God as we hurt ourselves and others. Yes, we hurt ourselves. Max Lucado goes on to write, “Ever notice that we describe the people who bug us as a “pain in the neck”? Whose neck are we referring to? Certainly not theirs. We are the ones who suffer.” (The Great House of God, Lucado, p. 123) Bitterness shackles us, it consumes our conscience. We suffer; we sin; we sabotage our relationship with the loving, heavenly Father and those we love.
It reminds me of this guy in Tennessee who saw a water moccasin in the bottom of his row boat. In panic, he pulled out his pistol and began blasting at it. Can you guess what happened next? The bullets tore holes in the boat, the boat sank and he rested on a nest of water moccasins. Blasting away at others in bitterness sinks our boat. It destroys us in the end.
Thankfully, we have a God who lets go of our bitterness. Psalm 25 says, “Remember, O Lord, you great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord…For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.” That’s a repentant request that is always answered. God doesn’t remember your sins, not a one. In fact, he doesn’t even remember your rebellion from yesterday because he let it all go when Christ “gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” God lets go of every sin, even our bitterness.
Now, Paul tells us to imitate God by letting go. Start by saturating your life with Scripture and the power of prayer. Ask God to help you do the impossible with someone who is impossible. Consider writing down the name of that person who is the object of your bitterness. Write down what makes you angry. Get it all out, how they hurt you, how they get on your nerves, how they make gagging noises in your presence. Then, crinkle up the paper, throw it in the fire pit and burn it up. Ask God to burn up your bitterness and consume you with love. Imitate him, and let it go!
Being others-loving
Having let go, now what do we do? How do we imitate God once bitterness has been banished? A month ago, I saw an article on Pop-star Britney Spears. It reads, “Spears, now cutting an image-shifting, comeback album after an 18-month hiatus, said she now realizes ‘I need my single time’ to learn to ‘be self loving.’ Now that she has let go of a relationship with her boyfriend she needs some time to love herself. God says something different in verse 32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another…” and in 5:2, “and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…”
Having let go of bitterness, God tells us be “others-loving,” not “self-loving.” Martin Luther once wrote, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord, subject to no one; a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” God set us free from guilt and sin when he let our sins go, but now he calls us to serve others, to imitate God’s service and love to us!
Start by looking at that word “compassionate.” Literally, it means “having good bowels.” What in the world does that mean? What do bowels have to do with compassion? Well, the Greeks believed your insides represented your feelings. That’s why your stomach hurts whenever you’re nervous, anxious, disgusted or sad. The Bible often says that Jesus “had compassion” on people. They were so spiritually sick and helpless that it made him sick to his stomach. But, more importantly, it moved him to action. He healed the blind, the lame, the demon-possessed. He preached God good news to the poor. He clambered up Calvary carrying their cross.
God tells us to imitate him by hurting for those are hurting. But more importantly, he tells us to imitate him with compassionate action. 1 John says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity (compassion) on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (3:16-18) Compassion leads us to action as we imitate God.
It’s awful tempting for us to say, “I don’t want to butt my nose into their business. It’s better not to meddle.” Nice excuse. When we see people who are sick, who are struggling to hang on to their faith, whose world has been shattered by death, who have been through abuse and failure and rejection—God wants us to take compassionate action. Send a card, buy some food, stop by—give them some time. Can the TV show wait? Can the house be cleaned another time? Someone needs to see God’s helpful hands in your hands, God’s comforting voice in your voice, God’s sympathetic eyes in your eyes. Let’s love with compassionate action.
This is where we find real significance, real fulfillment, in imitating God, in copying his compassion, kindness and love. Pastor Rick Warren writes, “What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it.” (Warren, Purpose-Driven Life, p. 233) Let go of the bitterness barrier and take compassionate action in your life. Imitate God, and give him the highest form of flattery. He deserves it, don’t you think?
