Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2
Into the Text
My mother loves to tell the story of how my brother and I would be completely different kids after we came home from my grandparents’ house. We would use phrases they did, and we were used to getting whatever we wanted. They could tell who we had been around.
Paul is calling the Ephesians, and us, to be the type of people that others can tell that we’ve been around Jesus. He’s calling us to be careful of our conduct and to mirror Christ wherever we are.
Why would we need to do this? We have been changed by Christ, and we are being made more like Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.
We do this by exhibiting two main character traits: love and thanksgiving. The grace and forgiveness of Jesus gives us a new perspective on the troubles, hardships, and miscommunications of this world. Since God is love, and His love radically changes us, we, in turn, want everyone to know and experience that same love.
This is why Paul writes it is preposterous for believers to exhibit anger, rudeness, greed, and impurity. These traits are found nowhere near Christ. If we’ve been with Him, we have no contact with these characteristics.
We are Christ’s ambassadors, and it is a privilege to carry that title. When others look at us, do they see Jesus, or do they see the world? May the love of our Savior radiate out to all that we encounter.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for your love and forgiveness. I pray that people around the world would see that I have been with you, and they would want to know you as well. Amen.