Ephesians: Tear Down These WallsShembull

What does it mean to be part of a family? 

For better or worse, children resemble their parents.

In many ways, I am just like my father. I am tall, lean, athletic, and have a big nose! But the resemblances are more than external. My personality and thinking style are very similar to my father's: introverted, analytical, strategic.

In a similar way, my own children resemble me and my wife.

But on an even deeper level, my wife and I expect our children to share our family values.

We say, "In our family, we are kind and respectful."

"In our family, we are grateful, not grumblers."

"In our family, we have fun and go on adventures."

What does it mean to be part of a family? Well, for better or worse, it means to carry on the family resemblance—biologically, psychologically, and spiritually.

This is exactly the point Paul is making here in Ephesians 5:1. God the Father has adopted us as his beloved children. Now, we are to carry on the family likeness of God! We are to "Be holy as he is holy" (1 Peter 1:15).

People might look at you and say, "Oh you're just like your father/mother!" For some of us we might receive this as more of an offense than a compliment!

It ought to be true of us also as children of God that people would look at us and say, "Oh you're just like your Father (in heaven)!" People ought to be able to see the family resemblance in our love, our compassion, our generosity, our wisdom, our sense of justice.

Of course, we fall far short of God's perfect holiness and love every day. And there's lots of dark corners of our lives where the light of God still needs to shine to expose and renew.

But Paul's point here still stands: as children of God, we are to imitate our Father in Heaven.

What area of your life is the Spirit bringing to mind for you to intentionally develop as you seek to imitate God? 

Bring this to your Father in prayer. Ask him to renew you and give you the will to follow in his way.