10 July - Ephesians 5

Today in the Tattoo Church Reading Plan we’re reading Ephesians 5. Below are a couple things to think about from this chapter:

1. Paul starts off with a great parallel from life. He tells us to “be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.” If you have kids then you get the picture Paul is painting here. When kids are young they imitate everything they see their parents do. They’re like little parrots repeating everything they hear their parents say. Paul is saying God adopts you as one of his children. So, we should walk around imitating what Jesus did in life. We should be Jesus parrots? (So . . . just thinking out loud here: a parrot on our shoulder all day like pirates to remind us to be imitators of Jesus would be a way cooler idea than those stupid WWJD bracelets!) Just kidding . . . kind of.
2. We also read about how we were once living in darkness before following Jesus but afterwards  we are living in the light. Our lives should be a drastic change as dark to light. That’s not to say everyone has done a long list of bad things in their life. However, even if it’s just on the inside, everything should change for the better after deciding to follow Jesus.
3. Paul tells us to make the most of every moment. This isn’t an invitation to hedonism. Rather Paul is saying that every moment of our life is a chance to grow closer to God and to love other people more.
4. Paul ends this chapter with some great advice for couples but they’ve become some of the most misused verses in the Bible about marriage roles. These verses have been used by some men to put themselves over women and that’s not at all the point of what Paul wrote. The cliff note version of these closing verses is this: a husband and a wife should love each other like Jesus loves them. He lived and died for us and forgives us without end. Both spouses should love each other in the same way.

If you’ve decided to follow Jesus, have you also become an imitator of him? What areas in your life have changed as a result of you copying Jesus? What areas still need work? Do you live each day like it could be your last chance to show others love? If you’re married, are you loving your spouse like Jesus loves you? If you’re skeptical of this whole “follow Jesus” thing I understand. What are some ways that you would expect a person who follows Jesus should act? Why? Is it because it’s a typical negative stereotype? What are some real ways you’d expect a person who is connected with the Divine to act? Are there some things you could change in your life to make positive steps in that direction yourself?