Exact Imitation

Have you ever seen a knock off handbag? Some people love them because they can get a designer look without paying a designer price. I've actually seen a few, and I have to admit the few that I saw did look real... from afar. Upon closer inspection, the fake bags didn't stand a chance. They were of poor quality. The stitching was crooked, the leather was cheap, and the designer stamp imprinted on the inside of the bag was weak. Some just can't afford the real thing while others with the money are unwilling to pay the steep price. But one thing is for sure, there is a price to pay if you want either bag. Which ever you choose, you get what you pay for. Be glad this is not the case for our salvation. The costly price of our salvation has already been paid. Jesus Christ paid the price. Good thing, because no matter how badly we may have wanted it, we could never afford the price of salvation. God knew we could not afford it and had another plan in place since the very beginning. We are not resigned to accept a "knock off," salvation, but the real thing. In this case, we got what we didn't pay for! Ephesian 5:1 calls Christians to be "imitators of God." We are to "live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us." We are to fashion ourselves after the example that God gave us in Jesus Christ. Unlike the production of an imitation bag, imitating Christ is by no means a small assignment. It comes with a sack of other assignments. We must first acknowledge his Word as truth before any imitation can take place. In order to imitate him, we must first know exactly how he acted. The only way to know how he acted is to spend time in the Word of God by studying or listening to it. Before the creation of the fake bag, its maker spends a great deal of time examining every inch of the real bag in order to produce an exact replica. We should conduct that same type of examination of the Bible, so that we have the knowledge of the scriptures that we need for the imitation of God. Once the bag maker has completed his examination, he's ready to begin the building of the bag. He sits down at this sewing machine and applies all that he's learned about the real bag to make the fake one. Before we can apply what we've learned, we have to undo what we've been doing. That's right, we have to undo the mind sets that we've held for a lifetime. Those mind sets must be undone, because those mind sets are what caused our evil ways (greed, bitterness, rage, impurity, brawling, slander, foolish talk). We should pray that the Word of God takes root in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. Then, we have to patiently practice the Word of God over and over and over again to renew our minds. Our minds will become full of God's Word. We have to practice speaking it, practice reading it, practice writing it, and practice applying it. The renewing of our minds will cause a new thinking pattern that lines up with the Word of God. This new thinking pattern will then produce new behaviors that line up with the Word of God. Then we will be exact imitators of God. Despite his best efforts, the bag maker's attempts will be flawed. Although his outcome may look similar to the real thing, we know that upon inspection its over for the the knock off. Its maker never had the original design. He was at a loss before he ever began. Here's an opportunity for you and I to rejoice! We have been given the original design. We have the blue prints for becoming like Christ, the Bible. Not only do we have the instructions, we also have examples of how these instructions look upon application. We can be as Christ was in this world. We don't have to settle for "knock off" status.