1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
In these verses, Paul teaches us to imitate God, and then tells us how – by loving sacrificially like Jesus did.
In 5:1, the directive to imitate God comes on the basis that we are His beloved children. As we know, children naturally imitate their parents. This happens from the time they are born. Spiritually, the same should happen for us who are children of God. It is both natural and necessary that we imitate God. It should also serve as an indicator of who are the true children of God, as only His children would know how to imitate him.
Earlier in 4:1-3, Paul calls us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Later in 4:17, he says that we “must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” The verse 5:2 then tells us to walk in love. In these verses, Paul wants us to live (walk) in a way that imitates God. Walking in love is imitating God.
Jesus showed us what is love. For “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (5:2). Just as Christ loved us sacrificially by giving himself up for us, we also ought to love others sacrificially. The is the kind of love that we must have as children of God – sacrificial love.
One of the most important ways of loving others sacrificially is by bringing them to Christ. Just before Christ ascended into heaven after His resurrection, He commissioned the disciples to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This command is still with us today. Carrying out this command require us to give up something of ourselves. Perhaps it is your time, your finances, or your effort. As long as it is done out of love, it will be your fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, just like Jesus did.