EPHESIANS 5:1-2 – 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.
THEME OF THE DAY. FOLLOWING THE MASTER. The word “imitator” in today’s scriptures is the Christian’s “marching orders” and are to be patterned after the life of our Lord Jesus. But there is a qualifier, an obvious one. Jesus’ fragrant offering and sacrifice was literal as the atonement for our sins. Ours is not atoning. It is the sweet fragrant offering and sacrifice to God that is pleasing to Him; a life daily reflecting the goodness, holiness, gentleness, and meekness of the Lord Jesus. Basically, we are following the Master in order to make Him known to the people observing us. We know that. We know the Christian life is one of being like Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and modeling Jesus, but I want to focus on just the words “fragrant offering and sacrifice.” This drastically changes the way we look at being like Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and modeling Jesus. How so?
In our thinking, instead of focusing so much on what we do, what we don’t do, how we serve, where we serve, who we serve, we begin to see that the whole of the Christian life is far more about being than doing. If we reduce the Christian life to service, we miss the relational aspect of service. Oh, that doesn’t mean the “doing” doesn’t happen. Service will happen but the service or the doing of the Christian life becomes a natural outflow of our closeness to Christ. We start to experience a natural walk of love like the Apostle Paul tells us in today’s scripture – “And walk in love, as Christ loved us”.
The Christian life is to be one of complete surrender to the Lord as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But it is a surrender of our person, not just our talents, resources, and gifts. We are giving the Lord our very lives for Him to make us like Himself walking a life of love for people that simply becomes a way of life. We don’t think about what we are doing for the Lord. We are enamored with Him and live for the Lord in spontaneous, random, and natural acts of loving people and God. Just like He did when He walked upon this earth. Jesus’ life was not forced, cumbersome, or just doing things. He lived out the will of His Father with freedom, delight, and purpose. And that is how we are to follow Him.
Following the Master and being a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God is not acts throughout the day. It is a lifestyle lived everyday flowing naturally from our close walk with Him. That is joy. That is the Christian life as God intends and has provided for. May we know it more and more each day!
PRAYER: “Father, may my life be a sweet fragrance before You of sacrifice modeling the life of Your Son.”
QUOTE: “People should ‘smell’ the sweet fragrance of the Lord Jesus in our speech, attitudes and actions. Are they?”