Imitation


              You might remember a while back there was a big movement called WWJD-What Would Jesus Do.    There were bracelets, a WWJD Bible, pin on buttons, and I am sure WWJD socks somewhere.  There are always Christian curmudgeons who gripe, grumble and pontificate at anything they think is new.  As one curmudgeon told me, “What would Jesus do is a stupid question, because He is God and we aren’t!”   You will have to imagine the scowl that came with this statement.  If you know anything about deductive reasoning, you know that if any part of a statement is false the entire statement is logically false.  I will let you apply that logic to the statement by the curmudgeon.  I know, you want the destination and not journey.  Hold your water, I am getting there!!!

              As a teacher I have an opportunity to aide in the education and training of new teachers by having interns and student teachers in my classroom.    This past fall I had the opportunity to host some teacher education students from Point University.  As a follow up, one of the professors asked if I would be willing to participate in a mentoring program via e-mail.  All I had to do was submit a biography, and answer questions via e-mail.   One of the recent questions drove me to this blog: 

“ I am in the education program because I want to start a ministry to help parent’s raise their kids in a Christian way. I currently have a lot of people at my church helping me by contributing their experience and ideas. I believe your library determines how successful you will be in life and because of that am working on books both for me to read and parents to read to help them through life and faith journey. Could you name your top book recommendations and why? Thanks in advance.”

You might remember in my blog Positive Thinking and Sin I talked about my brain being a gizzard, and the Holy Spirit is the stone that grinds the thoughts in my gizzard.  Well, the answer to the above question is still turning around in my gizzard.  I will blog my answer to his question when I put it together.  However, today as I was working on my Bible study for one of my discipleship groups, I came across a word and a phrase that set my gizzard to moving on the question above.


              One last “rest area” before we arrive at our destination.   People who know a little bit about any topic are dangerous.   If you are going to blast a stump out of your backyard, do you want someone who knows “a little bit” about explosives, or someone who knows a lot about explosives and has used them before?    People who know a little about the Bible are dangerous.   I won’t go on a diatribe of misquoted and misused Bible verses.  But error and lack of Biblical knowledge are like a few drops of nitroglycerin … explosive.   So back to my curmudgeon and his erroneous statement, is he correct?

              Back to today, and I am studying Ephesians 5 in preparation for a discipleship meeting next week (working ahead, what can I say!).   Here are the opening words of Ephesians 5 in the New Living Translation:  “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do because you are his dear children.”   Sounds to me like our curmudgeon is wrong.    Why would someone say what our curmudgeon said?  First, it is an excuse for behavior that is not consistent
with the character of God.   If it is too difficult, we sometimes try to interpret away the “toughness” of Scripture.  Second, he knows “a little bit” about the Bible, but he has spent little time reading and applying its truth.  Paul begins Ephesians 5 with a bombshell that is a very inconvenient truth.    In every thought (2 Cor. 10:5), in every action (1 Peter 1:16, Lev. 20:26) we are to be imitators of God.  If you are wondering what this would look like, I invite you to read In His Steps by Charles Sheldon.  It is a fictional account of what a life would look like totally surrendered to God and imitating Him in all things.  You can download a PDF of this book at http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Text.Only/pdfs/In.His.Steps.Text.pdf.  

              Whew!  Please place your tray tables up and your seatbacks in the full upright position, we have arrived at our destination.   In His Steps is a book that I will recommend to my student teacher via e-mail.  What Would Jesus Do?  It should be on our mind, and be the filter through which all of our thoughts and actions flow.  It isn’t just a bracelet, a button … or a pair of WWJD socks.  It is a paradigm shift for your life.  Start small, and work your way up.


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