I just love to watch kids. Last Friday night, I had the chance to speak at an inner city church in Milwaukee, and it was a wonderful experience. The worship and praise time featured three worship dances. During one in particular, a little boy – probably about 3, stood up at the front and watched the lead dancer, a young man of about 18-22. He couldn’t take his eyes off him! The little boy mimicked his movements and steps, raising his arms, bowing down low – it was just so precious to watch.

I love watching little boys and their dads in particular. Have you noticed how much little Sammy Lein is a little clone of his dad? He stands like him, walks like him, smiles like him – he’s a little Steve! It’s so great! It’s a modern example of the truth we see over and over in the writings of the Old Testament leaders of Israel, where a king was often described as “walking in the steps of his father.”

We all pick up traits from our parents. I walk like my dad. My dad picked up a love of reading from his father, and my kids have developed that same love in their lives. Of course, not all traits are GOOD – on many evenings around the dining room table, Carol will go into great detail about an event at work that day – including the size, type, and toppings on the customers sub – as she shares with us how her day went. Then she will breathlessly ask John how his day was at school, and he’ll say, “Fine.”

HMMMMM- I wonder where he learned that!

In our study of the letter Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, we have come to Ephesians chapter 5. Paul opened the second half of the 4^th Chapter, with a challenge to “not live like the rest of the world lives.” He has laid out for us some pretty clear teaching:

Don’t lie, Tell the truth.

In your anger, don’t sin; keep control.

Don’t steal, get a job and be generous.

Don’t talk trash, but encourage others with your words.

Chapter five opens up with an even greater challenge – listen to these words:

“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.”

Do you see that word, imitate? It means, “mimic.” It is used throughout the New Testament to encourage us to follow the example of other human beings, but here alone it is used to call us to imitate God Himself.[i] Paul is arguing that just as we see children mimicking their parents all the time, we should also be imitating our heavenly father.

Imitate God.

Uh Huh.

If you were with us last week, you might remember that I said that there are some sentences in the Bible that when we read them, we should be stopped dead in our tracks. Last week it was in verse 4:30, when Paul tells us that we can bring deep sorrow and grief to the God of the universe by our individual deeds – particularly the words we speak…

Here’s another sentence that should cause us to be stunned as we read it. “I’m supposed to imitate God?!” How can I possible imitate God? Has Paul gone completely nuts?

No – in fact God Himself has inspired these words from the pen of Paul, and we dare not brush by them as the ranting of some crazy man – this is not just wishful suggestion from Paul – this is a command from the Sovereign God of the universe inspired by the Holy Spirit! There is nothing optional about this statement! “Be imitators of God.” It is expected, commanded behavior that we are to be obedient to.

So how do we do it? Well, just as those Old Testament writers described “walking in the steps of their fathers,” Paul calls us to three very distinctive walks. In the NKJV Bible, they are described more clearly – in verse 2, Paul says, “Walk in love.” In verse 8, he says, “walk as children of light.” In verse 15, he says, “Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” We are going to look at each of these characteristics of walking like our Father over the next three weeks.

But for today, I want us to simply focus on this overarching concept of being an “imitator of God,” in verse 1.

Let me ask you something – What it the one necessary ingredient for a child to imitate their parents? Without this one crucial element, imitation and mimicking is impossible – what is it?

Exposure!

How could a child imitate a parent they’ve never seen? It’s a foolish question – it simply can’t happen! Imitation is dependent upon contact with the person being imitated, and in fact the effectiveness and success of the imitation is dependent upon the level of exposure that person has had!

We’ve all seen comedians who do impersonations of politicians, actors or other public figures, haven’t we? I remember one of the first comedy recordings I ever heard was a guy named Vaughn Meador, who did an incredible series of comedy sketches where he impersonated John F Kennedy. Over the years we’ve seen talented comedians make millions of dollars by imitating others. Years ago I saw an interview with Rich Little, who in the 70’s and 80’s was among the best. He said that he spent hours every day, for months, listening to recordings, watching video clips, and practicing before he ever allowed an audience to see his efforts on stage. You don’t just go out there on a whim and start imitating someone and hope they get it – you study, observe and pattern your voice, facial expressions, body motions, everything to match the object of your attention…

The Greek word that Paul uses here that we have as “mimic” is the Greek word mimetais, (mim-ay-tace') is a noun that means “an imitator.” But when used as a verb, it meant “to become.” The idea is that when done well, an impersonator does his best to “become” the object of their attention. Now Paul is not calling us to become God! That is not the point here – he is, however, calling us to be in the process of becoming more and more like God with each passing day. And it happens by being exposed to Him - His nature, His character.

HMMMMM…Maybe we’re on to something.

If I’m going to be an imitator of God, I need to be exposed to Him – to see how He behaves, how He talks, how He deals with people who are week, poor, rich, stubborn, rebellious, foolish, broken, humble.

And that exposure to God happens as I spend time in His presence. When I feel His acceptance as I worship – here at church full of others or alone in my own office or home - knowing that I’ve been so rebellious, and yet He still desires that I come to Him. As I pray, and commune with His Holy Spirit in my life, and yield more of my life to His control, I know Him more and better.

I experience His character as I spend time studying the life of Jesus Christ, and see His example of life among others. I see His acceptance of the poor and rejected. I see Him reach out to the “sinners,” and have little use for the “religious.” I am exposed to his nature as I read the Old Testament, and see his righteousness, holiness and judgment mixed perfectly with His patience, faithfulness and love.

Little Sammy Lein, who is around his dad day after day, learns by that contact how to behave. And it’s more than just how to stand or walk. Day in and day out, he’s watching, and he’s learning. He sees Steve’s compassion for the underdog. He watches him sacrificially serve others without a thought for repayment. He sees him play hard and work hard. He sees him laugh and be stern. And through it all – he begins to imitate his dad. In fact, he becomes a miniature Steve in many ways.

And the more I am exposed to Him, the more I immerse myself in His presence, the more like Him I am going to become. There is, in fact, no other way to become an imitator of God.

Will you join me in praying to our Father, asking Him to help us become more and more like Him every day? Will you join me in spending time with Him in prayer, seeing Him through Scripture, worshiping Him and yielding to His control?