What if the bird tried to swim and the fish tried to fly (except for exceptions such as the pursuit diver birds and the flying fish)? The bird will drown, and you know what happens to a fish out of water? When we aspire for something, we are not, we diminish ourselves. However, if we aspire for what we are created, we accomplish our purpose. We are created in the image of God. So, if we imitate any other creature or being, we diminish ourselves. However, when we imitate Jesus Christ, we accomplish our purpose in life.

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God

(Ephesians 5:1, NRSV).

We imitate God by imitating Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the incarnate, Son of God. In the mystery of the incarnation, God became man. He underwent the human condition, just like us, and he endured and persevered, and has set an example for us to follow. In our earthly journey, our only way is Jesus Christ, and we find the fullness of truth only in Him, and He alone gives us eternal life. Therefore, if we follow any other way, believe in anything else other than Jesus, we will not have eternal life within us.

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

(1 John 2:6)

To imitate Jesus, we must first believe the gospel, accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and repent of every wrongdoing. If we continue in iniquities, we cannot partake in the life of Jesus. Once we are repentant and sincerely make a commitment to live a life pleasing to Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit of God will lead us to become imitators of Jesus.

Imitating Christ is a lifelong commitment. The more we love Jesus, the more we will desire to imitate Him, and become like Him. The only thing that separates us from God is sin. We fail to imitate Jesus Christ if we continue in sin. We must walk away from sin and walk towards God, for He is not waiting to punish or condemn us, but to lead us to repentance, so that we can become His true imitators.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

(John 3:17)

How closely we resemble Jesus will determine the perfection in our life. As humans, we are filled with defects, and when we imitate other human beings, we too become defective beings. However, if we imitate the Lord Jesus Christ, who is perfect in all His ways, we will become like Him. It is His perfection in us which makes us worthy to become children of God.

God has given us His only Son to be our Saviour. When we stand in front of God one day, all that will matter at that time will be how much we have imitated Jesus Christ, while we were on earth. At times, my imagination goes back 2000 years, to the time when Jesus was on earth. I wonder, how it would have been to be with Jesus? However, Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit to be with us, the third person of the Holy Trinity. Through the Holy Spirit, we constantly feel the presence of Jesus. The Holy Spirit constantly guides us to become imitators of Jesus. I believe we are getting closer to the second coming of Jesus. No one knows the hour of God’s coming, but we know that it is apparent and at hand. Therefore, brother and sisters, as His coming draws near, we must always be ready and constant in prayer, and the best way to prepare ourselves, is to become imitators of Christ Jesus.

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