Imitate Jesus

If you are not fulfilling God’s purpose for your life, you haven’t begun to truly live. You will never achieve your highest dreams and goals apart from God’s plan for you. How do we know this? We need only look at the life of Christ, the only One to fulfill His ordained purpose to the letter. Jesus knew how vital it was to live out His Father’s specific plan. His only desire was to do the will of His Father and bring Him glory (John 17:4). And we are called to imitate Jesus.
Bringing glory to God involves every aspect of our everyday lives—everything we do. But to help give us a handle for putting this into action, let’s consider three categories or qualities that enable us to bring glory to God. We see these three qualities in the life and teachings of Jesus.
- Discipleship.
To be a disciple of Jesus involves not only learning what he taught but also doing what he taught. A true disciple of Jesus Christ knows Jesus’ teachings, lives by them, and passes them on to others. - Worship.
Though we often use it as a noun, describing a gathering of worshipers, worship is first and foremost a verb, describing the act of responding to God’s glory with reverence and awe. Jesus made it clear that the important thing is not where we worship or how we worship. Regardless of our denomination or our worship style, the important aspect of worship is Who we worship. Worship is your response for all that Christ has done for you. You were made to worship with your life. Therefore, your greatest act of worship is to bring glory to God in all that you do. - Relationship.
We learn from the Genesis story that God created us for relationship. The Scriptures are the grand story of God’s love relationship with us and His call for us to love others as He has loved us. In Jesus, we see the pinnacle of this story and the ultimate demonstration of sacrificial love. Jesus gave up everything, even His own life, to demonstrate His love for us and restore our relationship with God. And just as Jesus taught His disciples, He calls us to follow his example.
excerpt from: Taking God At His Word by Babbie Mason Copyright©2013 by Abingdon Press. Used with permission.