“Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children 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.”
Years ago, when seeking God’s will for what He would have me do to serve Him, I was led to “…live a life worthy of the calling you have received,” (Ephesians 4:1). Ephesians 4:11 enumerated gifts the Holy Spirit bestows to “prepare God’s people for works of service,” saying, “It is he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers…”
I had been asked to help teach an adult Sunday school class, I felt these words ‘jumped out at me’ from the Bible, guiding me in the direction He would have me go, and I decided to ‘give it a try.’ I did my part in studying His Word to be prepared with head knowledge. Still, I was filled with fear of public speaking. The first Sunday that I presented a lesson, I could hear my voice speaking but felt I was deep within the recesses of my body. I knew it was the Holy Spirit and not I Whom had drawn out of me the Word to be imparted! I received affirmations and encouragement from class participants and continued to teach in the years since.
I recently showed Ono’s adult discussion class clips of Pastor Louie Giglio (from Matt Redman’s Face Down book with companion DVD). Pastor Giglio reminded us that God was not selfish with Himself. Freely He shared Himself with us through all of creation. And freely, Jesus Christ gave all of Himself on the cross to redeem us from our sins. Thus, Giglio reasoned we, then, should not be selfish with Him. We should follow His example and freely share HIM with others! Again, I was reminded of Ephesians 5:1’s words of wisdom, that we are to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 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.”
This Easter, as we recall how Jesus gave His all for us, may we each ‘answer the call’ to give our all and humbly serve others in love. May we indeed “BE IMITATORS OF GOD!”
R N.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzZ4cqy_FCM