"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in
love . . . "
Paul is telling the Ephesian churchmen--even as he still speaks to the church today--that we are to "imitate" God. The first and clearest way we do this, is by "walking in love." The key to both of these otherwise preposterous commands, is to be found in what sandwiches in be-
tween them: "as dear children."
As the children of God, churchmen will imitate their Heavenly Father, even as natural children imitate their human father. But *how* do we do something that does not come naturally to us (because of our sin)? Through faith in Jesus. The Son of God is the One who connects us, the children of God, to our Heavenly Father. Can we walk in imitative love today? Yes; in Christ our Lord.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Inward grace is wrought by outward means; the preaching of the Word is the engine that God uses to work grace; it is called 'the rod of HIs strength,' (Ps. 110:2)." --Thomas Watson, in his sermon, "The Beauty of Grace"]
