Be a Carbon Copy!

There are always people that we wish we could be like. We strive to emulate a person because they have traits that we admire, respect, or because their signature traits have won them some type of acclaim. However, we see a "part" of that person, not the whole person. If we knew of their faults or failings, we might not be so eager to want to be like them. In fact, it always amazes me that one day a person can be looked up to with so much regard and then when a person’s failures are discovered how they become the scum of the earth.

There is One who already passed every test known to mankind and did not fail. This is the One we need to imitate and strive to be a carbon copy:

^1-2 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  Ephesians 5: 1-2 (MSG)

God has already revealed every attribute that should be desired. If we as HIs children, want to learn how to behave in any and all situations then we should sit at HIs feet and learn from Him. The greatest attribute that signifies who God is – is love. If we do as is suggested above, "keep company with Him" – we learn to live a life that exhibits love. We learn how to love ourselves and we learn how to love others.  We learn to love for the sake of love, not  to manipulate or sway circumstances for our favor. We learn to love so much  that it crucifies our flesh and enables us to be transformed into a new creation – we learn the kind of love that is an "extravagant" kind of love that in turn reproduces itself in a world that so desperately needs – love.

Maria