“Be imitators of God….For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:1, 8
I have uncles that are twins: Jerry and Lerry. When I was a teen I worked with them many hours each summer on construction sites. The work was hard but the company was good and the conversation was entertaining; their jokes and stories seemed to make the work a little less tiring. On one occasion they told me that they were so identical when they were teens that they could substitute one for the other surreptitiously. This led to some interesting incidents including one where they were playing baseball and secretly alternated pitching. One inning the opponent faced Jerry; the next Lerry, and so on, only the opponent couldn’t tell which one was which. Since one specialized in the fastball and the other in breaking pitches it left the other team completely baffled. My uncles learned to imitate each other in every way and it led to much hilarity down through the years.
Early in Ephesians 5, Paul says “be imitators of God.” What does that look like in real terms? I think verse 8 helps us understand. Paul says, you were dark. Now you are light. Living in the light as light essentially means to imitate God, copying his character, values, ideals in every way possible. The popular phrase WWJD is based on this paradigm. We love because we are loved. We care because he cares. We help because he helps. As we get to know God better, we become more like him. Live as children of light the Bible says. And redeemed children who live in this manner are those receive the “inheritance of the kingdom.” (Eph. 5:5)
