How to be Better Imitators of God

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Next time you read the Bible, consider asking Him to show you how to imitate him better. Here are a few examples.

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬
 We can look for ways to be more merciful, and to show more grace. We can be slower to anger, and increase the amount of love we show others. Perhaps there are chances to be more faithful in the little things.

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬
God is slow to anger, but he has his limits. He hates certain things. Jesus was angry in the temple, with righteous indignation. Maybe we should be more outraged, but only in the ways God is. “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jesus had a reputation of being a Friend of Sinners. Are there ways we can be not just compassionate, but truly a friend of those who are at the bottom of society?

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God is the Creator. When we, too, are creative, we emulate him. The same idea appears in ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭8‬, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” When we make things with our hands, we imitate him.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” ‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In this verse, God is a rescuer, One who calms children, one who celebrates, and he is a singer. When we behave in these ways, he is expressing part of himself through us. Some of us may benefit from singing even more than we already do, or putting extra effort into rescuing (whatever that means for you), or being freer to celebrate things that deserve a party.

When we go to God’s Word, we can ask him to expand our vision of how to be imitators of Him. Everything good comes from him, James 1:17, including the ability to be super analytical, gifted in caring for animals, or being a good leader. Maybe ask him to increase your vision of how you already are imitating him and just weren’t aware of it.

When I’m Angry at God

Obviously nobody has the right to be angry at God, but we all are mad at him because we are all broken and sinful. How, then, should we deal with that anger?

For me at least, part of the answer includes talking to him about it, not hiding. While confession and repentance are irreplaceable, they have not gotten all the anger out of my heart. Something else is needful. What is it?

If you hurt, who is the safest Person in the universe to share the ache with? Father, of course. When you celebrate big, who is more excited than anyone? Mm hmm. Jesus.

Who will “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” including when you’re the one sobbing? Jesus. Romans 12:15.

If you fall to a sin, where is the safest place to run? Yeah, God is. He is the most loving, most tender One.

No one is more passionate about restoring broken relationships with God than God himself.

“A bruised reed he will not break,” which means you, “and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” Isaiah 42:3.

So when you are angry, including at the Almighty, who is the best Counselor (Isaiah 9:6) to ask for help, who will never condemn the humble and broken (James 4:6, Psalm 51:17)? Abba Daddy Father (Romans 8:15)!

Picture a small child angry at daddy for making her eat green beans. If her father is a loving, compassionate man, and she comes to him humbly asking for help, “Daddy, I’m mad at you but I know I shouldn’t be. Can you help me work though this?”, how will he respond? Will he scream, “How dare you??” Would he beat her? You know he would pick her up gently, plop her on his lap, and give her a big, warm hug. His face would only show patience and love. If he’s a good, good father, no place is safer than in his arms, even when she’s confessing her anger toward him.

Or looking at it from a different angle, isn’t reconciliation part of any great friendship? We cross lines. We hurt and get hurt. Then we face it, ask forgiveness, and move on. The friendship is often stronger than before because we weathered a storm together. It deepens bonds, not weakens them, when it’s done in a healthy way by both sides.

Even though God is always right, the same principles apply. After all, He is the One who invented friendship. You and I cross God’s lines. He crosses ours (though he is always right to do it). We sweat and maybe cry with each other (Romans 8:15). We work though it together with Him.

Who else is as caring (1 Peter 5:7)? Who else is full of tender mercies? (Psalm 25:6). Reconciliation is the whole reason He sent Jesus. No one is more passionate about restoring broken relationships with God than God himself.

Bring your anger to Daddy. Ask “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger [yes, that’s just how He is!], and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:5-6) for help. He is the Friend of Sinners (Matthew 11:19), not the Enemy. He is as safe for you as your womb is for your baby.

We Should Seek More Glory

It is true that we should not look to increase our own glory.

”It is not good to eat much honey: So for men to search their own glory is not glory.“
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What then does Father mean when he says this?

”He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I think the answer is in which source we want glory from. Here he lists two different ones:

”But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Men can praise us, or God can. If the idea of God praising you seems strange, like it does to me, that’s what the Bible says. A famous example is when Father says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” Matt 25:23. (Praise is different from worship, if you think about it.)

So we can choose. We can seek the glory from man that is small and short-lived, or seek the glory that comes from The Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, Who Is, and Who Was, and Who is to Come.

Accidental Sins

“You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭45‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God made a way to cover the sins of his people, even when they sinned through ignorance / not knowing any better, or error / mistake.

He had the priest do these certain things, and everything was covered. Even if the person didn’t realize they sinned, it seems.

If Jesus is your God, you, too, have a Priest who covers your sins, including those you commit accidentally and even the ones you don’t know about.

How To Do Proverbs 20:5

Proverbs 20:5
“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

How does one go about drawing out the purposes of someone else’s heart?

Consider what makes us open up to others. First of all, it must be drawn out, not forced out. It means they share because they want to. How does one accomplish that?

If you’re like me, you probably share the intentions in your heart with people you feel safe around. That means we, too, must be safe. That means we avoid interrupting. We don’t shoot their idea down or say it’s a bad idea unless they’ve given us the right to. It means we’re always like that. That’s our daily habit. We treat everyone that way all the time.

To say it another way, we demonstrate love as God defines it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. We are patient and kindhearted, for example. Would people describe you as patient? We don’t insist on always having things our way. We try not to be irritable. Most of us don’t share our hearts with people who like to brag, so we would want to avoid being like that.

Another idea is to simply ask them. Many times we would probably be happy to share what’s on our hearts, but we don’t — just because nobody ever asked. And if we wouldn’t open up on the first go around, we might if they keep asking.

Gradually building rapport can be quite effective. With very rare exceptions, most of us took some time to warm up to our best friends. It didn’t happen all at once. They were trustworthy once, and that made us feel more comfortable around them. So then we opened up a little more. After a few weeks or months passed, we gradually trusted them more and more. They didn’t just barge into our lives on day one expecting to know our deepest, darkest secrets.

One last suggestion would be to ask deliberate, thoughtful questions like, “I noticed you responded to the situation in this way, not that way. I don’t believe I would’ve thought of that. Help me see it from your perspective.” Or one could inquire about a hypothetical scenario, specifically asking things that would get at a person’s motives. “I saw so-and-so on TV and they said XYZ. What is your opinion, and if you don’t mind sharing, how did you come to believe that?”

Many of these ideas will also work in our interactions with our Heavenly Father. Is he more likely to reveal new things to us if we get angry about what he’s already shown us? We must be patient and wait for him. We must be humble before him. Sometimes we can simply ask, research it in the Bible, and never give up till he answers.

”Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.“
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I’m Bored of the Monsters

Life with Jesus is a lot like driving in the dark with a big ol’ truck or Jeep with those big lights mounted on top. You can see 500’ ahead of you, never more, and seldom less. You see obstacles and often treacherous territory right in front of you basically all the time. That never changes. So for a while you panic at scary things in the night. You feel stressed whenever there’s a cliff straight ahead or signs of an ambush. Sometimes things seem to be lurking just out of sight. After like 10,000 miles of this, you start to go, “Know what? I’m seeing a pattern here. It feels like no matter which direction I turn, there’s trouble ahead. But as long as I follow Jesus, he always gets me through and I always gain way more than I lose. So yeah, now there’s a grizzly ten yards away and he doesn’t look friendly, but so what? I already know how this little chapter is going to end because I’ve done it a zillion times. Jesus will tell me how to navigate this and I’m going to obey. Then I’ll come out the other side and there’ll be some other monster, and we’ll repeat the cycle. That’s how it always goes. So I’m going to eat this hamburger nice and slow and slurp my drink. I’m not gonna go into Fight-or-Flight mode, which never accomplishes jack. King Jesus, tell me which way to go and I’ll do it, and that will be that.”

God Seems to Find Humility Irresistible

Notice the contrast painted in this passage:
“Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭66‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Also: “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭57‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭24‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

These verses that tell who his heart inclined toward and who he lets into his very most personal space seem to be high yield as far as what to invest my energy in.

The Armor of God in Isaiah

Maybe “put on the armor of God” means put on the same armor God himself uses. That makes the Ephesians passage carry a lot more gravity, or so it seems to me.

“He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬-‭14‬, ‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lucifer

Satan is an idiot.

His advice is always terrible and short sighted.

He’ll use power, sex, control, whatever bait we’ll swallow. He tempts us to take a dollar today instead of a million dollars on our next birthday.

He is the mastermind behind corporate greed — he will string you along when it serves his agenda, and then stab you in the back. Every. Single. Time.

He absolutely hates women. He oppresses the poor and underprivileged. He ravages children and despises animals. Who do you think was the biggest champion of American slavery? Racism? Keeping women down? He’s the creepy person who offers the candy, then violates people in the worst possible way and leaves them for dead.

To Jesus, however, he is like cigarette ash. His crowning defeat occurred in The Greatest Chess Game Ever — the Crucifixion of Christ. Killing the Son of God seemed like a good idea at the time, no doubt. Unfortunately for him, God has power even over death [see Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14 in the Bible, aka “Hebrews 2:14”] . So when Jesus resurrected himself a few days later, the devil knew he had mistakenly driven the wooden stake into his own heart.

Not only did Jesus prove his infinite superiority in that win — and he always wins [Proverbs 21:30, Isaiah 46:10, again, in the Bible] — he also opened the way for billions of us humans to escape the devil’s shackles and slavery and to live free. [Romans 6:4, 1 John 3:8]

Jesus and Satan are not yin and yang, not competing boxers in opposing corners of the ring, each hoping for the win. Jesus alone is the Infinite Almighty God [John 1:3, Hebrews 1:3], and by comparison Lucifer is a piece of dust on the back of a gnat. Jesus will dispose of him into the lake of fire on Judgment Day, like a used paper towel [Revelation 20:10]. Jesus Christ alone is boss over all the other bosses, King over all the kings and rulers in the physical and unseen realms [Revelation 19:16]. All of them. Jesus — by himself — is where all the knowledge in the universe is [Colossians 2:3], all the power, and all of that glory that you may be seeking.

If you want infinite power living inside you [Ephesians 4:6], Jesus is Who you are looking for — him, and him alone. If you choose to follow him, remember he is Boss, not us. And his literally boundless power [Colossians 1:17] inside you will be for his purposes in his timing, not yours. He doesn’t come into your life to make you a wizard. No, he he has vastly higher visions for you than that! Like sharing his infinite glory with you in his timing [John 17:22, 1 Peter 5:6]. And that is only the beginning.

You can learn more at https://great-news.org/

A Little Autumn Poetry

Nothing in the world has quite the poetry of a leaf flying to the ground. A swarm of thousands flowing sideways in the wind is another glory in itself. There is a beauty in a green leaf falling, which differs from electric reds and yellows descending, followed by a perhaps solemnity of crispy brown ones. Here in early autumn, half the leaves look like shards of stained glass windows falling in slow mo, and the rest are oil paintings of a young hippie artist just discovering psychedelics, who isn’t aware whether he’s awake or dreaming.