How was Jesus so impactful in his life? Having “Son of God” on his card helps, especially when beneath is Creator, God, Redeemer… you know. But his mission was to seek and save the lost, giving his very own life as the ransom. This mission would be expressed in his own life and then in the lives of his friends. In his friends, the mission would be expressed in his disciples making disciples, inviting them to follow, trust, love, and IMITATE.

For the past several weeks, we have been examining the process Jesus used to “MAKE” his disciples. Follow ME. Trust ME. Love ME. This week, we are turning our attention to another part of Jesus’ process. IMITATE ME. First, let’s go back to Jesus.

I do what I see my Father doing. I say what I hear my Father saying. If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. The Father and I are one. These declarations from Jesus all point us to the reality that Jesus IMITATED the Father.

If following is about the eyes, trusting is about how we think. Loving is about letting the love of God fuel our love. Then IMITATION is about proximity. It is about being close enough to Jesus that we can do what he would do - always.

More than once, Jesus told his friends, do what you have seen me do. Love like I love, serve like you have seen me serve, be generous like you have seen me be generous. Forgive others like I have forgiven. Paul wrote in his letter to the Church in Ephesus, “Be imitators of God.”

Let me finish with two thoughts.

First, to be an imitator of God is to be in close proximity with God. It is to memorize his mannerisms, his sayings, and love who he loves. To be an imitator of God is to be close enough to him to see through his eyes.

A few weeks back, I was sitting in my car when a man approached me. He was not like me. Different color, different education, different story, and can I be honest, I did not see him through Jesus’ eyes. I saw him through the lens of my own culture. And as I did, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, and I was deeply convicted that I was imitating culture, not Jesus. Fortunately, I was with someone who was imitating God much better than I. For me, proximity was not about love for Jesus; it was about being distracted. In my distraction, I chose to be an imitator of culture rather than Jesus.

This is all too common in the church today; we imitate culture over Jesus. Before you make this statement about church services, music or style - STOP! This is about love, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, and pretty much how I spend the other 167 hours when not inside the walls of my church.

Second, if you are actively disciplining someone, teach them to imitate Jesus. Without imitating Jesus, we cannot have lasting fruit. But that is next week.

Imitate

Giving