In our ladies Sunday school class, I recently taught from A. W. Pink’s book, The Attributes of God. It was a deep and satisfying study. But as I prepared the lesson each week, I realized there are some attributes of God that we as Christians can and are instructed to imitate. The apostle Paul also instructs us to imitate him as he imitates God.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV)

There’s probably nothing so sweet and gratifying to a parent than to catch their child imitating them like a little boy who follows behind and tries to step in the footsteps of his daddy or the little girl who loves on a doll by talking to it, dressing it, and laying it on a bed and gently tucking the covers in at the neck. Natural children automatically do what they see acted out in front of them. We only hope they have good acts to mirror and not evil ones.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 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 ESV)

That type of love is a fragrant aroma wafting on gentle breezes up to the nostrils of God. The apostle Paul told the church at Philippi (Philippians 4:18 KJV) their gift to him was “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” In love they shared what they had and gave to Paul. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 (ESV), Paul said:

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

By imitating God through loving others, we offer up to God a sweet aroma, the fragrance of a sacrifice. It doesn’t always come easy to love others. Some people seem unlovable. Yet Romans 5:8 (ESV) says:

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We must remember that before we became imitators of God, before we became his child, we were of our father, Satan. We were followers of him. We imitated him. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul lists some of the evil deeds of the unrighteous then says in verse 11:

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

We are no longer imitators of Satan but placed in a relationship as a child of God where we are to begin walking in the footsteps of our heavenly Father. Since Jesus loved us enough to sacrifice his life for us, surely, we could, through his power, love those who appear to be unlovable or less desirable.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)