Ephesians 5:1-2 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
These verses present two thoughts to me this morning. The first one is the
matter of the way we look, talk, and act as children of God. We are to be
followers of Jesus Christ. We are to "walk in love as Christ also hath
loved." This may sound a bit judgmental, but as I go about town into
various shops and stores, I see a group of people that look much alike. Their
hair, tattoos, and piercings soon begin to fade together into one lump sum. It
makes me wonder who set the stage for this "fashion" statement. If
they want to look as individuals, why do they all look alike? We are to be
imitators as we go from day to day, but there is One who is much higher than
any earthly fashionista that we are to follow. His name is Jesus. We are to
attempt to live our lives as Jesus is living through us. I don't want to be
like any movie actor or sports person. I want to be like Jesus. That being
said, I know I have much room to grow before I have accomplished my goal. In
order to walk and be like Jesus, I must first know about Him and then I must
strive to have a deeper relationship with Him as a Person. That comes through
reading and studying God's Word and being in constant communication with Him,
which brings me to my second thought.
We communicate with Him through prayer. We are told that we are to "...
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) But then we are also told that it
is "Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:9) So, if
it is not of works, yet we are to come boldly... How is it that we can approach
the throne of God's grace? We are to go with the understanding that our
approach to God's throne is through "... Christ (who) also hath loved us,
and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweetsmelling savour." There is nothing in and of ourselves that would
present a "sweetsmelling savour" unto our Heavenly Father. Therefore,
we cannot go boldly to Him by way of our actions; rather, we are to approach
the throne through the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We
are accepted by God through Christ and only through Him. We pray in Jesus' name
and His accomplishment, not our own. God hears us in our prayers for Christ's
sake, not our own. I want to be a follower of God by showing Christ in me
through my thoughts, words, and actions.
1 We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love—
for Jesus, who died, and is now gone above.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again.
3 All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain,
who has borne all our sins and has cleansed ev'ry stain. [Refrain]