Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. -Ephesians 5:1, 2 (KJV)
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:1-2 to be followers of God. Do you know another way this can be applied? Be imitators of God. Take on the attributes of the Lord – at all times and in all situations. No matter what life throws at us and no matter how difficult our problems become, seek to be like Jesus – in every aspect of life. The beginning point after trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is to walk in His love. Now, here is a formula for victorious Christian living and it’s meant to be practiced by followers of Christ; Walk, live, in the love of Jesus Christ.
Those who have never trusted in Christ as Savior cannot walk in spiritual victory. The reason being that they are still in a lost condition. But if they will realize the need for salvation, open their hearts and receive Jesus, then they will be saved, born again, redeemed, and cleansed from sin by the shed blood of Christ. Such persons, whoever they may be, will then be given power to walk in the love of Jesus Christ – as the Bible commands. What happens when we begin to walk in the love of Christ? The answer is that His light begins to shine from our lives.
As a follower of Jesus, if I am mean, moody, cynical, hateful, and sarcastic, then such negative attitudes will greatly hinder the light of the Lord that might otherwise have shined through. That is why the Bible clearly tells us to get rid of those undesirable attributes. I Peter 2:1 says, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” To walk in the love of Jesus means to live in such way that the light of Christ can shine freely from our lives. Ephesians 5:2 reminds us of what the Lord has done; Christ has loved us, and has given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God. Christ loved the world so much that He died in our place. He bore upon Himself the sins of the world that we might have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. A man told me once that he had so much wrong with his life that he didn’t think he had anything to be thankful for. I said, “Wrong; you have salvation.” No matter what we can always be thankful for that.
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