Verses from Ephesians

“因此，你们既然是蒙爱的儿女，就应当效法神。 要凭着爱心行事，好象基督爱我们，为我们舍己，当作馨香的供品和祭物献给神。”
‭‭以弗所书‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭

The theme of following God appears throughout all of Scripture. In the Old Testament, Moses warned the Israelites not to live like the Canaanites when they entered the Promised Land: “Do not follow their practices” (Lev. 18:3) or “imitate the detestable ways of the nations there” (Deut. 18:9). Instead they were to obey and follow God’s laws (Lev. 18:4, 26–30). They were His chosen people. “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples . . . to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6–7; 14:2; 26:18).

In the New Testament, the apostle Peter says that believers in Christ are also “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Therefore, we are to imitate God: “Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1:15). We are to live radically different from the world, to “be perfect, as [our] heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), to “be merciful, just as [our] Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36), to love as God loves (Eph. 5:1–2).

As we reflect on the challenge to imitate God, we can ask, If I am not following God’s example, who am I imitating?
Sim Kay Tee