Ephesians 5: On a Mission from God

I didn't play organized sports until I was about 10 years old - I can still remember the butterflies from my first trip onto the baseball diamond for tryouts for a REAL league. I'd played catch with my dad, but I'd never been a part of a baseball team, & I didn't really know what I should do when I made my way out onto the field... so I looked for someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. And I followed him. His name was Robert, & this wasn't his first rodeo. I imitated his confident demeanor. Went where he did on the field. Circled the fly balls like he did, & hit the cut-off man with my throws. Like he did. He never knew that I was looking to him as my example, but my tryout was a success largely because I'd had him to copy, & for that I am eternally grateful. Having someone to imitate, someone WORTH imitating is priceless - & in Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul tells the church at Ephesus (& us!) to imitate God in all of our behaviors  - just like a little kid would imitate someone they looked up to... like I did with Robert on the baseball diamond. Imitating God gives us an example to follow that helps us in the words we speak with others, with holiness & sexuality, & in our interactions/relationships with others. God never intended that we would have to just figure stuff out on our own - rather, He sent Christ so we would have an example to follow & we would know what it looks like for a person to live a life submitted to God, obeying Him in every area of life, navigating through the myriad 'grey areas' that life is full of. The goal is that each of us would be able to say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," & serve as living, breathing examples of Christ-followers...