Through The Bible in a Year - September 11, 2026
“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
“Be imitators of God.”
Four simple words. Piece of cake. Easy as pie.
Or so it seems, until you actually do some honest soul searching about what it would mean to be an imitator of God. That would mean—no bitterness, no unmetered wrath, no slander, tenderhearted forgiveness toward everyone, sexual purity, no coveting, no crude speech, contentment in all things. Such honest consideration would reveal something immediately: this simple command requires more heart than you’ve got.
Paul is not naive. He knows what he’s asking. He’s writing to a church full of Greek philosophers and Jewish practitioners who are all, in different ways, trying to establish their standing before God through what they know or what they do. And he says: none of that is enough. You must imitate, that is, perfectly reflect God Himself.
But then—before this demand crushes our hearts under its holy weight—he adds three words that change everything: “as beloved children.”
Not “as people who are trying hard.” Not “as people who must earn their standing before God.” Rather, serve your Heavenly Father “as beloved children.” It is so important that we note this identity granted comes before the imitation commanded. Love comes before obedience.
In a social-media-saturated culture, a pressured mom once confessed what others’ perfect-family posts and the constant barrage of advice articles had done to her. They shamed her so much that she struggled to get out of bed each morning.
The antidote was not “try harder.” It was the message of Scripture from an understanding friend: “You are the beloved child of God. Nobody can make you insignificant or ashamed without your own cooperation. You stop cooperating with the shamers when you claim your identity in Christ.”
Before your first failure or your last failure, you were God’s dearly beloved—loved as much as He loves Jesus. That is not a reward for imitation. It is the ground from which imitation grows as it is watered and strengthened by the truth of God’s unconditional grace.
Respond: Are you approaching the Christian life as a qualification for God’s love—trying to earn your standing by what you know or what you do? Or are you approaching it as the response of a beloved child—loved already, responding to love rather than performing for approval?
This week, try saying out loud before you begin each day: “I am a beloved child of God. Jesus makes that true regardless of my successes or failures. What I do today is my response to the love he has already secured—not my attempt to earn it.”
Prayer: Father, I confess that I’m tempted to approach You as someone trying to qualify, not as someone already beloved. I instinctively perform to gain the approval You’ve already given. Let your promised provision of grace sink deep—I am Your dearly loved child. Loved as much as You love Jesus. Before my first failure. After my last one. Let that truth change how I live today—not striving to earn your love, but responding to it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.