** Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. ** Ephesians 5:1,2
Young children imitate their parents in everything. In the way they walk, in the way they talk, in the way they act. They copy every behavior they see and absorb every philosophy they are exposed to. They are sponges ready to soak up all the good and all the bad that is in their world.
Children are clean slates ready to be written on. Their faith in their environment is complete. They do not think through what they are exposed to. They accept it as right because their trust of their care-givers is pure.
Today’s text tells us that we are to be like little children in our own pursuit of the knowledge of our God, our Heavenly Father. We should listen and watch and learn with innocent, pure hearts ready to receive all the the Lord has for us without question or doubt. We should grow step-by-step, year by year, always reflecting our “home environment”, the teachings of our Father. We should be more like Him, more like Jesus, everyday.
One essential teaching that we receive from the Father and from Jesus Christ is to walk in love, the way Jesus did.
Walk in love has two aspects.
The first is “in love”, as in being ‘in love’ with Jesus. When we are ‘in love’ with someone we are always thinking of Him/Her. We wake up thinking about them, we want to talk to them, spend time with them. We want to know all there is to know about them. Our love for them consumes us. We dream about them, we plan our future with them, we talk about everything with them. We are more one with them than any other person in our world.
Such it should be with our Savior. We should walk, talk and act like we are in love with Him and be conscious of all that we say and do, understanding that it will affect our relationship with the One we are ‘in love’ with. What we do will draw us closer to the One we love or it will drive us farther apart.
The second way we can ‘walk in love’ is to spend our days loving others just as Christ did when He walked here on Earth and how He does today.
Jesus loved others by healing their diseases and infirmities. We may not have the gift of healing physical illness, but we all have the gift of healing hearts and souls with the Word of God and the Love of Christ.
Jesus also loved others by celebrating with those that celebrated and comforting those who mourned. He spent time with those who needed counsel and guidance. He loved the unlovable.
He lived an exemplary life, knowing that His spiritual children were watching Him.
Jesus lived every day to revive, refresh and have compassion on those around Him. He loved and showed grace and mercy to those who others had condemned. He invited marginalized people to be a part of His inner circle.
He rebuked those who acted superior, or with prejudice or bias. He did not allow women to be treated as inferior. He was an example to every father and husband.
He loved unconditionally. He was full of grace and mercy. He was kind and patient and good.
Jesus was humble and meek yet strong and firm in Who He was and what His purpose was on Earth. He was loyal to His calling.
He was a sweet-smelling savor to God, pleasing the Father in all things.
It is our turn to walk in love. In love with Jesus, pleasing Him in all things. In how we talk and how we walk. In how we treat others. In how we reach into their lives to help, refresh, support, encourage and bless.
It is our turn to be a sweet-smelling savor to Christ, sacrificing our plan for His. Sacrificing who we are to be like He is. Living sacrifices that impact others for Him. For His Kingdom. For His Name. For His glory and not our own.
**Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. And walk in love…**