• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Five ways to imitate God

Five ways to imitate God

Posted on April 10, 2023 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


Theologians categorize the attributes of God into two categories. The categories are communicable and incommunicable. Communicable attributes are those which God has passed on to humans. These are the ways we demonstrate that we are made in Gods image.

This morning, I read this verse in Psalm 86:

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Psalm 86:15, ESV

David, the author of this psalm, lists five attributes of God:

  • Mercy
  • Grace
  • Slow to anger
  • Abounding in steadfast love
  • Abounding in faithfulness

These are all attributes that are communicable; we can imitate God in all five items on this list.

We can choose to be merciful to the people in our lives regardless of whether they deserve that mercy.

We can demonstrate grace to those who definitely don’t deserve it. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount about turning the other cheek and going the second mile.

We can choose to be slow to anger. Certainly there are things that happen around us about which we should be angry. We should be rightly angry when injustice is done to those who cannot protect themselves.

But am I quick to become angry about those little irritations that come at me? Am I quick to become angry because I have been inconvenienced in some way? By refusing to let the small things make me angry I can imitate God.

We can choose to practice love. The love in question is unconditional love that looks out for the best interest of the object of that love. It’s not an emotion as much as an action. It is a choice to do the right thing for someone else.

We can choose to practice faithfulness by being faithful to those to whom we have made commitments. In the whole story of the Old Testament, God was faithful to Israel even when they were in open rebellion. God has been faithful to humanity by providing a Savior in Jesus Christ, even when we as a group were in open rebellion against him.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, ESV)

Romans 5:8, ESV

Every moment of every day, we can chose to imitate God in these attributes. Like exercising our bodies to increase our skill, speed and strength to complete an activity, we can also exercise our minds to increase our ability to practice these attributes.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

I have the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey this summer to minister to Syrian refugees. If you would like more details about this trip, please use this link Mark McIntyre - Istanbul, Turkey Please note that this trip is fully funded, but I would appreciate your continued prayer. The trip will take place June 27 - July 6, 2025.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

The Case for Christianity book cover

C. S. Lewis on going to church

When you got to church you’re really listening in to the secret wireless from our friends: that’s why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us going. He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery.

Philip Yancey

Philip Yancey on the problem of pain

A quote taken from Where is God When it Hurts? by Philip Yancey speaks to those who are “smoldering with rage” at God for allowing pain and suffering in the world.

Shepherd with Sheep

How well do you shepherd your flock?

All of the items in the list above are related to the second great command to love my neighbor. A list like this is helpful because it reminds me that to love my neighbor, I have to get to know him and know what is going on in his life.

Swimming Upstream

Going against the flow

In reading the book of Isaiah, I get the sense that with the advent of electronic media, we have improved the speed of communication but not the quality of the content. Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun and this passage confirms it. Isaiah describes a nation that is in the midst of […]

Question 17

What happened to man in the fall?

You might take issue with the idea of the fall of man as recorded in the book of Genesis. You might not attribute the state of man to sin, but you would have to work very hard to avoid the evidence that man is prone to misery.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
July 2025
SMTWTFS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031 
« Jun    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in