Pastor Granillo: Life Imitating God

By Pastor RAUL GRANILLO
Los Alamos

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” –Oscar Wilde

I am a Gen-Xer. I was part of that group that grew up on hairbands, Nike Pumps, Goonies, and MTV. What I remember most about my youth is so desperately trying to stay in touch with the pop-culture. Fashions and slangs seemed to change more often than my shoe size did; and surviving Jr. High and High School meant never missing the newest fad. I had to really be careful which “artist” I imitated. In hindsight, I made a good choice in jamming to Metallica rather than to The New Kids on the Block.

Art is simply people expressing themselves through many mediums: stories, poetry, paintings, songs, etc. But people also express themselves through verbal communication, dress, or even in the way they react to and interact with other people. And in the same way we were influenced by the pop-culture of our day, so we are even now influenced by what we observe from those that we think are the innovators of culture.

It may be hard to accept, but if we really consider it, most of us will realize that we are followers—imitators of art. We look to see where the next trend is going, and when enough people get on board, we join them. It is important to us that others perceive us as socially acceptable and a part of modern trends.

The problem is that this habit of “life imitating art” accomplishes nothing in this world other than spending too much money on products and following philosophies we haven’t really considered. This way of life is empty and based upon the empty desire of attaining something that will not last.

The Apostle John wrote that the things of this world are just things. And the things that originate from the world or from man—that means both things and ideas—will all eventually perish; only God provides everlasting life (1 John 2:15-17).

Paul admonished the body of Christ to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” (Ephesians 5:1). He explained that we should intentionally choose to imitate God rather than man. And why not? After all, God is the source of all authenticity, He is the foundation of everything that is real; God is the light, the truth, and the way. So wouldn’t it make sense for us to choose to imitate Him rather than man?

Imagine a world where the people imitated God, where everyone intentionally stopped following worldly trends and instead began innovating new ones based upon a holy fellowship with Jesus.

Imagine what might happen if Christians began imitating God and living a “life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2 NIV).

The question we should all wrestle with is, “Does my life imitate art, or does my life imitate God?”

Holiness Matters!

To find out more about La Vista Church, or to hear this and other messages, visit our website at www.lavistanaz.org or email me at raul@lavistanaz.org. Follow Pastor Raul on Twitter @RaulGranillo007

Please come join us as we fix our eyes on Jesus. We meet Sundays at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10 a.m. for worship. Everyone is welcome!

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