Somebody once said that when you see the word "therefore," you need to stop and see what it is there for. We concluded looking at Ephesians 4:32 yesterday, by considering that the reason we walk in kindness, tenderhearted and forgiving was because Jesus Christ had forgiven us. Remembering that Paul's letter to the Ephesians was not broken down into chapters and verses (that was done much later to help study it), we go right to chapter 5 and see a "therefore." Chapter 5 verses 1-2 state: "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." As a result of Christ's forgiving us, we are to walk as He walked following Him which is a walk of love. There are times that this can be difficult; however, the Word would not tell us to do so unless it was God's will for us to do so.
The Barnes New Testament Commentary explains: "The word "therefore" connects this with the previous chapter, where he had been exhorting them to kindness, and to a spirit of forgiveness, and he here entreats them to imitate God, who was always kind and ready to forgive. As he forgives us, (Eph 4:32) we should be ready to forgive others; as he has borne with our faults, we should bear with theirs; as he is ever ready to hear our cry when we ask for mercy, we should be ready to hear others when they desire to be forgiven; and as he is never weary with doing us good, we should never be weary in benefiting them."
What a great responsibility we "therefore" have; we are to be God imitators! Are you a God imitator? Are there some areas of your life that you can say "yes" and others you say "no?" We are to the best of our God given ability, imitate Him in every aspect of our lives. Search yourself today to see what are your strong points and what are the weaker areas. Ask God to make your stronger areas stronger and your weaker areas stronger. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that real change will occur (this is not about you just trying harder).I’m
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