Imitate Him

“Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as his beloved sons and daughters.” — Ephesians 5:1 TPT

My husband and I have noticed something about our son when he was little.

He started coming out with phrases that we say. For example, when we were exasperated, we might say, “Flippin’ ‘eck!” And so, when something frustrated him, out it came! It made us laugh at the time, but it has also reminded me of something important:

Children imitate what they see and hear.

They are watching. They’re listening. They’re learning, and if we’re honest, sometimes that’s a sobering thought!

I’m thankful my son didn’t only imitate our moments of irritation. He was always kind, loving, well-mannered—most of the time!—and he still is.

But the principle remains: what is around us gets into us, and what gets into us eventually comes out of us.

Little Christs

Paul writes:

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.” — Ephesians 5:1 TPT

God doesn’t simply want us to know about Him. He wants us to become like Him.

There’s something fascinating about the word “Christian.” It comes from the Greek christianos, a term meaning someone who belongs to Christ, often understood as “little Christ” or a Christ-follower.

The early believers didn’t need a marketing campaign to tell people who they were. Their lives made it obvious. They had spent time with Jesus. They had listened to Him, watched Him, learned from Him and been transformed by His Spirit. What they had received from Jesus began to show up in the way they lived, and people noticed.

Look Like Your Father

What would happen if we approached our Christian lives with that same mindset? What if our goal wasn’t simply to attend church, know Scripture or call ourselves Christians, but to actually look like Jesus?

Would people see His love in the way we treat others? Would they hear His grace in the way we speak? Would they recognise His compassion in the way we respond to hurting people? Would they see His courage when we face opposition? Would they notice His holiness, His humility, His generosity and His forgiveness?

Paul says something remarkable:

“We have the mind of Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV

Think about that!

God doesn’t just want to change our behaviour from the outside. Through the Holy Spirit, He wants to transform us from the inside out—our thoughts, attitudes, desires and responses. The more time we spend with Jesus, the more we should begin to resemble Jesus.

Do What Jesus Did

But imitation doesn’t stop with character. Jesus also called His followers to participate in His ministry.

He told His disciples:

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” — Matthew 10:8 NIV

And then Jesus made an astonishing promise:

“Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” — John 14:12 NIV

That’s not a call to self-confidence or spiritual performance. It’s an invitation to participate in the works of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t imitate Jesus by trying to become Jesus. We represent Jesus because Jesus lives in us. We have received freely, so we freely give.

We can pray for the sick. We can proclaim the Gospel. We can minister to the hurting. We can bring hope to the hopeless. We can believe God for miracles while always pointing people back to the One who performs them.

Make Him Known

As we step into a new season, perhaps the question isn’t simply, “Am I a Christian?”

Perhaps the better question is: “Can people see Christ in me?”

Is Jesus recognisable in my language?
In my attitude?
In my relationships?
In the way I respond when I’m frustrated?
In the way I treat people who disagree with me?
In the way I serve?
In the way I pray?
In the way I respond when someone is hurting?

Our children are watching. Our friends are watching. Our colleagues are watching. Our neighbours are watching, and ultimately, the world needs more than people who claim to know about Jesus.

It needs people who look like Jesus.

So let’s be His representatives.
Let’s imitate our Father.
Let’s carry the character of Christ.
Let’s think with the mind of Christ.
Let’s love like Jesus.
Let’s serve like Jesus.
Let’s minister like Jesus.
And let’s make Him unmistakably known.

If we are going to be called “little Christs,” let’s make sure our lives point people to the real Christ.

Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration

I declare that I am an imitator of God and I represent my Father as His beloved child [Ephesians 5:1]. I choose to have the mind of Christ and allow His thoughts and attitudes to shape my life [1 Corinthians 2:16]. I declare that the fruit of the Spirit is being produced in me—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22–23]. I believe that Christ lives in me, and His life can be expressed through me [Galatians 2:20]. I choose to freely give what I have freely received, serving others with the gifts God has entrusted to me [Matthew 10:8; 1 Peter 4:10]. I declare that my life will make Jesus known, so that people can see His love, His character and His power through me [2 Corinthians 5:20].

👉 If this devotional encouraged you today, share it with a friend on social media or send it by email. Someone may need the challenge today to ask themselves, “Does my life look like Jesus?” Let’s become people whose words, actions and lifestyle make Christ unmistakably known.

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