Imitate the Action

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 10:12-11:2         2/9/2018

Moses continued in his message to the Israelites. He challenged them to recognize God’s power and dominion. He reminded them that they were chosen because of God’s love for their ancestors. Out of all creation, they were chosen. God esteemed them as somehow special.

Finally he admonished them to imitate the creative behavior of God. Recognize, he encouraged, that God loves the orphan, widow and resident alien. And for this reason – to be in harmony with Him – they should too.

Harmony from Imitation

Imitation is natural communication. If you’re trying to teach a group of people to hula-hoop, your best bet isn’t a physics lecture. It’s a demonstration.

That doesn’t mean a physics lecture wouldn’t explain what’s going on. But it’s also not likely to get a room full of people to move.

Imitate God, Imitate Christ

Paul once said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” 1 Cor 11:1  It wasn’t that he was trying to cultivate a personal following. He was saying, “I found something meaningful here and the way to experience it is to do what I’m doing”.

Swing your Hips!

That’s what my daughters tell me. It isn’t pretty, but even I can get a hula hoop going if I imitate their motion.

We find the spirit of God when we begin to imitate the things that God does. Do the same things you see God doing – It’s like a secret passage into a deeper reality. The doing brings the understanding. Not doing eliminates the possibility of understanding. Action, and action alone, is capable of harmony.

So let’s get moving!

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.” John 5:19