A sincere Christian wants to be like God. His love and respect for God is one of the reasons he is a Christian. The more like God he becomes, the happier he is. How does the sincere Christian want to be like God? He wants to learn to think like God thinks, to learn to act like God acts, to learn to love the things that God loves, to learn to enjoy the things that God enjoys, and to learn to refuse the things that God hates. The life of a sincere Christian clearly shows that he belongs to God.
Christians are to be followers of God as dear children (Ephesians 5:1). A small child who loves his father will try to imitate the thing his father does. A grown son who deeply respects his father will pattern his life after his father's wisdom and instruction. A Christian who loves God the Father will struggle to walk in God's own footsteps. Paul says Christians must be blameless, harmless sons of God who shine like lights in the dark wickedness of this world (Philippians 2:15).
There are many ways a Christian will learn and follow because they are the ways of God. If something is God's way, that alone is proper reason for a Christian to do it. The Christian is told to do many things because they are God's way. The Christian is to be holy because God is holy. (I Peter 1:15, 16). It is not possible for God to be holy and His children live in unholiness. Christians are to be merciful to all people, even those who abuse them, because God is merciful (Luke 3:36). Christians are to be ready always to forgive others because God forgives them (Ephesians 4:32). Christians will strive to be perfect because their Father is perfect (Mathew 5:48). Here "perfect" means "mature". Christians will struggle to become spiritually mature people because God is completely spiritual as their wise, mature Father. All of these things show that Christians make a serious effort to imitate God. God is perfect goodness. The more like God a Christian becomes, the better the person's life is. Because God is our Creator and the Savior of our souls, living like God gives a Christian both the best life and the happiest life. Because God made us, God's way is always the best way.
Christians should be warned that there is no value, no help in praying to God as their Father or in calling themselves God's children IF they do not try to live in God's way. John says that he who does righteousness is righteous, but he who sins is of the devil (I John 3:7, 8). Live your life as a godly person.
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