Are you familiar with the saying, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”? It is a phrase that is often used when a child shows behavioral similarities to their parent, usually the Father. And it is something every believer would love to have said of us in relation to our heavenly Father. But is it possible to be like God? As it so happens, Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent when he explained that taking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make them like God. But to aspire to have the same power as God and to aspire to model his character are two different things. One is done out of envy and the other is done out of admiration. In any case, I would argue that in some ways it is possible to be like God. In Matthew, chapter 5, verse 48, Jesus even said that we are to be like God. He said:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The goal of perfection sets the bar quite high. None of us are perfect but, according to Jesus, that is the goal. The context for this verse is when Jesus mentions in the Beattitudes that we are to love our enemies. He said in part, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”. Consider how honoring it would be to God if we were to take on such a close likeness to him that we would be perfect like he is perfect; that we would pray for our enemies; that it would be said of us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. As believers, it should be our goal to reflect the nature of our heavenly Father. Often times that would include actions that are counter culture; actions that take us out of our comfort zones; and actions that cost us something as we put others ahead of ourselves. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If imitation is really the most sincere form of flattery then to truly honor God would mean that we are to strive for godly perfection.
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When you were a child, did you ever want to be like your father? Did you put your little feet in his big shoes? Did you mimic his mannerisms? Did you try to talk like he talked, walk like he walked and act like he acted? In the same way, we are to try to emulate our heavenly Father. We should desire to think like him and to feel like him. Our thoughts should agree with the word of God. And what breaks his heart should break ours. We should want to please him, to make him proud of us, to honor him, and to obey him. It should be our mission to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. I would challenge you to consider what adjustments you might need to make in your life to better align yourself with the perfection of our heavenly Father. What would godly perfection look like for you? The first step in knowing the answer to that question is to get to know the Father. Read his word, pray to him often, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal how you can make this verse true in your life. In doing so, I can think of no better way to please the Father.
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