Ephesians 5: Follow God’s Example

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” -Ephesians 5:1-2

What does it mean to follow God’s example? Sermons mention it, books promote it, but living it is another matter. In Ephesians 5, Paul offers some helpful insights into the practical implications of this concept.

First, to follow God’s example is to be a person of love. Rather than an attempt to be better than the next person, our goal is to show the love of Christ as much as possible. This never-ending quest challenges every person from the newest believer to the life-long Christian.

Second, we must be willing to put others before ourselves. Jesus gave up his life as a sacrifice for us. We are called to give up our desires and interests to serve the needs of those around us. This could be a roommate, spouse, child, or parent, or could be an unreached people group in another part of the world. The principle is universal–put others before ourselves.

Paul not only taught these ideas–he lived them. Ephesians was written from Rome when he was under house arrest. His work to share Jesus with others had led to his arrest and much persecution. Yet he did not see these struggles as something to flee from, but part of the process of following God’s example. Let us likewise follow God’s example through our love and our service to others regardless of the difficulties we face today.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.