Imitation of God
"Henceforth,
all your moral behavior is simply "the imitation of God." First
observe what God is doing all the time and everywhere, and then do the same
thing (Ephesians 5:1). And what does God do? God does what God is: Love. The
logic is then quite different than the retributive justice story line most of
us were given. Henceforth, it is not "those who do it right go to heaven
later," but "those who receive and reflect me are in heaven
now." This is God's unimaginable
restorative justice. God does not
love you
if and when you change. God loves you so that you can
change. That is the true story line of the Gospel."
—Adapted from Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 1999), 35-36.