To Walk As He Walked

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.  

Ephesians 5:1-2 

He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.  

I John 2:6 

How shall we live? When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he expounded doctrine of salvation and then applied it to the life of us who believe. The first portion of our text articulates, in summary, how the believer lives, in the imitation of Christ. When John wrote, as we see in the second portion of our text, he sounded similar to Paul. Thus, ‘He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.’ John went on to speak of love for others, just as Paul had spoken of walking in love. This is an evidence of Christlikeness to which we do not naturally incline. Our natural depravity is such we do not incline to love as much as we do to hate. A casual scanning of the society in which we live reveals much hatred on every side. Who frees us from it? The answer is Christ. Only a clear sight of Christ will turn us away from our natural inclinations. Only a view of people that is like His view will elevate us above our tendency to hate and instead lead us to love. It is the contemplation of Christ that leads us to the imitation of Christ. Thus, we learn to walk as He walked.  

Our Great and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You are love. 
We praise You, as You show us Christ, 
You teach us to walk in love as well. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning