The Greatest Imitation

[hldude33]

"The Greatest Imitation"
Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.  He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

I've always been impressed when I hear people try to imitate an actor or actress.  Some people I've heard are pretty good at it, while others really need some work!  I've watched many comedians throughout the years imitate different people and some of the imitations are mind-blowing!  It's amazing when your jaw drops as you say, "Wow, that is a great impression!"  I've also heard different friends, family members and others who have tried impersonating someone else and it sounded very genuine!

I think we all enjoy hearing someone do a great impression of someone else.  It's quite entertaining to hear these impressions and often times we want them to keep going and going to keep us laughing!  So often we or other people put much effort into imitating others and getting that talent down just because it's so impressive.

The other day, when I read over this passage as I have so many times, it reminded me of how it is so important to imitate God.  It's quite funny to witness good impersonations and gives us a good laugh, but I can't help but think about our effort in imitating God.  How much effort do we actually put into imitating what God wants us to do? 

The greatest imitation we could ever put on is to do exactly what God wants us to do.  He calls us to be just like Him in everything we do.  Think about the first part of this passage of Paul's words, "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do".  Doesn't that say it all???  Everywhere we go, everyone we talk to and whatever we do, we are called to imitate God.  When we do this, we will live a life filled with His love.  That is exactly what God calls us to do. 

That is the greatest imitation!