Looking Like My Daddy
From the Armor Series
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 CSB
Hey friend,
Do you ever find yourself going down memory lane? That is exactly where I found myself the other day. My dad had asked me to look for a video I had on my phone. As I was going through digital photos and videos, I came across a video of my son when he was about seven years old. It was during this time in his life that capturing a video or a photo of our son, Isaac, proved to be extremely difficult. He was bashful and anytime he even thought you were taking a picture or video of him he would run and hide or throw his hands up in front of his face. I would get so irritated!
Honestly, you would have to see this video to really get it, but I’ll try to explain it. It took four small videos to record the whole scene – especially when Isaac would sense that I was recording him, and I would have to stop! As I sat there and watched the screen, I was taken back down memory lane to the exact moment in our kitchen floor. The exact moment when my son was trying his best to be like his daddy.
There he was standing in front of the kitchen counter, blue jeans and a white undershirt with his daddy’s camouflage hat on. He was filling his pockets with all the things his daddy normally carried in his pockets, and was trying to put his daddy’s big billfold in his tiny blue jean pockets. Needless to say, it wasn’t going in very smooth. Isaac made the comment before the end of the recording, “Now, I look like my daddy!.” I’ll never forget it.
Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” God Himself has made sure that absolutely nothing will get in the way of us wearing our breastplate of righteousness. He made sure when He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price at Calvary which secured our victory once and for all.
When Jesus hung on the cross and bore our sin and shame, He paved the way for us to walk free each and every day in this life when we place our faith and trust in Him and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. The old is gone and the new has come. We no longer have to be a slave to our flesh, to sin, to the old nature, to unrighteousness. Sweet friend, we have been set free in Jesus! Glory Hallelujah!
As a result, we need to meditate on His word. Internalize God’s principles, and then flesh out what God’s word says in your thoughts and actions. Far too many Christians just hear the Word – allowing it to go in one ear and out the other. This has been me far too many times. But when we meditate on His Word, internalize God’s principles, and then flesh out what God’s word says, we are putting on the breastplate of righteousness and allowing the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do in our lives.
This daily rhythm that we discussed earlier in the week is what renews us. It grows us. It changes us. It makes us look more like our daddy. Our Father God – that is who we need to try to be more like day in and day out.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to be more like you and less like me. Please help me not to just hear the word and allow it to go in one ear and out the other. Help me to meditate on your word – allow it to make and permeate into every fiber of my being. I want it to soak into my thoughts and flow out through my actions. Holy Spirit, please have liberty to do what only you can do. I love you, In Jesus Name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 CSB
Reflection:
Choose one Scripture that has particularly sparked your interest. Meditate on it. How can you “receive it” instead of just reading it? How can you let it bake into you so that it changes you?