My husband and sons told me of a father and son duo they had met while attending a men’s event at church. The son was about 4 years old and was fascinated by his dad. The little boy wanted to do everything just the way that his father did. The boy mimicked his father so exactly, so intentionally, and so consistently that it captivated the attention of my husband and delighted my two teenage sons. They said, “The little boy sat at the table and tried to position himself so that he was sitting just like he saw his dad sitting. If the boy saw his dad greet someone with a hug, he wanted to give that person a hug the same way his dad did. When the lad saw his dad shake hands with someone, the son shook hands with that person in the same way. When the dad nodded at someone to say hello, the son nodded, too. There even came a point when the little boy even tried to stack folding chairs that were way too big for him because he saw his dad do it. And his dad came over to help him put the chair away correctly.” The son was enamored and awe-inspired by his dad. He was also so confident in his dad’s judgment and the protection he knew his dad would provide that he wasn’t slowed down in the least by the fact that he didn’t even know the people he was greeting. He didn’t give a second thought to who he was hugging or shaking hands with. The little boy was absolutely convinced of two things: # 1 - that his dad had everything under control, and # 2 - he wanted to be just like him.
As my family shared this story, it reminded me of another Father and Son duo who act in the same way. Instantly, I had a visual in my mind of what the Lord Jesus meant when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” John 5:19-20 NKJV and what is written in Ephesians 5:1, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”
Any attempt to live these scriptures out from the perspective of an adult makes the Lord’s example seem hard to follow or maybe even unclear because immediately the adult mind starts throwing up limitations and roadblocks to imitating our Savior and the heavenly Father, and the reasons where this might not apply. Fear of crossing the line becomes the concern and imitating God as His dear child falls further from our thoughts because adult decision-making takes its place.
The adult mind fears that imitating God will be too close to Lucifer’s crime to take the risk or that it will lead to disappointment, failure, or embarrassment if you trust God in such an unquestioning and absolute way. However, Matthew 18:3-4 and Romans 4:16-22 tell us that this child-like imitation of Christ is exactly the approach that is the key to receiving from God (especially grand things that go beyond God’s general goodness that even the unbelieving and birds of the air enjoy) and to having unstoppable faith which always receives answers to prayers! Imitating God isn’t replacing God. It honors God and demonstrates that you don’t think you have a better idea than He or think you’re capable of being your own lord and savior. It shows the Lord that you recognize His divine order and lordship in your life, that you find Him to be a capable Father who has perfect judgment, and that you trust your safety and outcome to His all-powerful hands.
Abraham eventually had to come to this place of trusting God as His little child – when he dared to call himself the father of many nations because his Lord called him the father of many nations. Abraham disregarded all the adult-minded reasoning of his situation and instead mimicked his Father’s words in saying that he was in fact the father of many nations – even though his age and the condition of his wife’s womb said otherwise. And he kept saying it. Verse 17 of Romans 4 contains an important and powerful statement that we need to meditate on, “…in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Did you ever face a bully when you were a kid and say, “Just you wait…I’m going to tell my dad on you! He’s gonna beat you up!’’ and then ran to get your dad to come to handle the situation because you knew he had the muscles to take care of that person for you? I visualize Abraham standing with his hands on his hips doing just that; facing down the enemies of time, age, inability on his and Sarah’s part, hopelessness, and the threat of ridicule - and his Father, God is right behind him with His almighty hands on His hips backing His son. Abraham took courage, placed his trust in the Lord, and opened his mouth to imitate what he heard his Father already say about him, “I’m the father of many nations,” calling those things that were not currently visible on the earth as though they were presently visible - just like his Heavenly Father did. AND, the Father wasn’t offended by Abraham's imitation. In fact, God encouraged Abraham to do just that, by changing his name and the name of his wife.
Jesus consistently spoke throughout His earthly ministry concerning the importance of His relationship with His Father, the example His Father set for Him, His absolute dependence on the Father, and His inability to do anything without the Father. Jesus approached the Father as a dear child Himself which is why He emphasized it to us. As our Lord imitated the Father as His dear child, so must we. So, go ahead, and imitate your Father’s faith, love, forgiveness, and character. You'll be so glad you did!