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 (NASB)
One of my favorite I Love Lucy episodes is the one where Lucy tries to avoid being caught imitating Harpo Marx by imitating him as if she were a mirror image of him. She has to focus every fiber of her being on him so she’s in tune with his actions. It’s hysterical (if you love Lucy), but it’s also a vivid picture of what it’s like to follow an example–not just spout the words.
Therefore, Paul tells us (what’s the therefore there for?), we aren’t to live or dress up like the dark and disobedient, but we’re to put on the new self in the likeness of God (Ephesians 4:24). The Greek gives a sense of sinking into a garment–a sinking, I think, into Jesus. Into Love Himself, so we become a mirror image of Him.
Continued over at BibleDude.net as my contribution to what will become a community commentary on the book of Ephesians.
Still,
Sandy
