IMITATING GOD
«The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever» (Psalm 117:2, NIV).
WHEN ARE WE MOST SIMILAR TO GOD in regard to our behavior? We are most similar to God when we love unconditionally, when we forgive, when we serve others, when we give without expecting anything in return. . . The list is obviously endless, but it would be incomplete without this other attribute: we imitate God when we keep our promises.
Lewis Smedes clearly underscores this point when he writes that, although a lot of things in life are out of our control, there is one aspect that we can control: our ability to decide—not once, but ten thousand times—whether we will keep the promises we have made to the people we love. According to this author, we are never more similar to God than when we keep our vows of love and faithfulness to those we love.
That is interesting, isn’t it? Although Smedess assertion is debatable, nobody can deny that we imitate God every time we honor our promises, because there is probably no other aspect of God’s character the Scriptures emphasize more than His faithfulness (see Deuteronomy 7:9). This fact is well illustrated by a story in which Cynthia Covey talks about the happiest day of her life. She says that she was twelve years old when her father, author Stephen Covey, promised to take her along on a business trip to San Francisco. For three months, both father and daughter planned every detail of what they would do: visit Chinatown, go out to eat, ride a cable car, watch movies and have ice cream.
When the long-awaited day came, Cynthia was extremely excited, but then a problem came up: her father came to the hotel with an influential businessman who insisted on taking them on a tour and having dinner together. Throughout all this, Cynthia saw how the man insisted that her father accept. When it appeared that their dream trip would be ruined, her father interrupted:
«Listen, Bill,» he said, «I’m really grateful for your kindness, but this is a special time I want to spend with my girl. She and I have a carefully planned tour.»
Cynthia says that their tour went according to plan down to the last detail. She writes, «I don’t think anyone ever loved their father more than I loved mine that day.
Today is a good day to ask God to help us keep our promises of faithfulness to our loved ones; and to ask Him to help us be more like Him every day. Could we wish for anything loftier? Or want anything nobler?
Holy Spirit, please dwell in me, and make me more and more like Jesus.
I want to be faithful, not only to my loved ones, but especially to my Savior.
#AdultsDevotional
#RadioJovenAdventista
#MeditacionesDiarias
Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Collaborators:Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate