Looking Ahead

I have a picture sitting on my desk. It is a photograph of my son from when he was just a little guy. We were living in Yuma, AZ at the time & it must have been the winter. My guess is that I was preparing to head to winter camp in the mountains with the youth group. In the picture Klayton is dressed up in my gloves, hat and backpack. Little kids love to imitate their parents. If dad has a Chiefs hat, little Tommy wants a Chiefs hat, If mom wears high heeled shoes, little Sally wants uncomfortable shoes too! When Dad mows the yard, Billy is right beside him pushing his bubble mower, when Mom is paying the bills, Lisa is punching away on her device as well. Often somewhere along the way in childhood development kids turn into teenagers and hope they won’t turn into their parents only to get a little older and realize they’re still imitating their parents!

When Jesus called His first disciples, He called them by saying “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” When those folks answered His call, “they left everything and followed him.” And for around three years these twelve men did exactly that, they physically followed Jesus all around Israel. They listened to Jesus teach, they saw Him heal people, cast out demons and then they went and did the same!

Jesus’ call to us is not so different. He is calling us to be in relationship with Him. He desires for us to know Him and to follow, to obey Him, to imitate Him. The Apostle Paul accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow Him and to share His story with others. Paul shared Jesus with people in person and through his letters. This year we have been studying one of those letters he wrote to the church in Ephesus. In a couple of weeks we will get back into Ephesians and consider how we can construct a life that honors God, how we can imitate Him better.

Our series covering the last three chapters of Ephesians, At Work, will begin on September 21. This will be a great series to invite your friends and family to worship with you at Wallula. Pick up your personal invites from your chair in the worship center this Sunday and encourage others to construct a life that honors Him!

Lance

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

• Ephesians 5:1