I learned from my dad the right way to watch a football game—leaned back in the recliner with your hands folded behind your head, a can of Dr. Pepper not far away. I watched him do that for years; it’s the only way I do it. And for some reason, when I’m eating a handful of peanuts, I have to shake them up before I pop them in my mouth. Dad taught me that, too. A while back, Melissa came into the kitchen and found me putting a cup of ice into the freezer, so it would be ready when I needed it. “Why are you doing that,” she asked. My reply? “Because dad always did it.”

How much more important is it that we learn to imitate our heavenly Father? One of the characteristics that Peter says must be supplied to our faith is “godliness,” in order that we may become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:1-11). I don’t know how to explain godliness without bringing up a word that is almost identical to it—godlikeness. Godliness, in the purest sense of the term, is to take what has been revealed about the character of God and make it a part of our own character.

Paul said on Mars Hill that God made every nation of mankind “that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). He has made Himself known to us. He has shown who He is. And He wants every person to see Him, to seek Him, to find Him. It’s up to us to take the information and make the transformation, to “put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and truth” (Eph. 4:24).

What can we do that will cause others to notice that we have a lot of our Father in us?

Be holy, because He is holy. We recognize that from 1 Pet. 1:16, but the Apostle is actually quoting from Leviticus 11:41-45. The command is originally stated in the context of laws prohibiting the Israelites from touching unclean animals or people. They were separate, distinct, totally “other than.” They were holy. Moral holiness involves our recognition that we must abstain from the common, corrupted things of the world if we’re going to sustain a relationship with a holy Father. He has separated and sanctified us to a higher, nobler calling. When we cease to be holy, we cease to be His.

Be righteous, because He is righteous. If holiness has to do with character, then righteousness has to with conduct. As G. Campbell Morgan observed, “Holiness describes being; righteousness describes doing.” All that we think, all that we say, all that we do stems from all that we are. Being a child of God is not just holding on to moral attributes. It’s putting them into action. And your righteous behavior reflects to the world that you are related to Royalty.

Be just, because He is just. That speaks to the integrity of His character, that He is impartial and intolerant when it comes to dealing with sin. Our culture has treated it so lightly that people seem to think that there is no sin involved in sinning. But God’s attitude about it has not changed. It is not some minor miscalculation or error in judgment, it is a high crime against Him, one that will not go unpunished. Remember, since God is just, justice will be served. We best not be swayed by such a casual treatment of wronging Him who is right.

Be merciful, because He is merciful. Do you remember the last time you felt betrayed by someone you trusted, someone you had faith in to keep a promise? Imagine forgiving them for doing that to you over and over again. That’s the Lord’s mercy. All the times He could have given up you, yet He was patient and long-suffering. He expects you to show that same lovingkindness to your fellow man, for it is only the merciful who are promised to receive mercy (Matt. 5:7). If you refuse, you have neither godliness nor God.

Be loving, because He is loving. Jesus set the standard of our love for one another awfully high when He said we are to love “as I have loved you” (John 15:12). That means our love must be active. God eliminated all doubt when He demonstrated His love to us and gave His own begotten Son. Love is sacrificial, involving some investment and effort on our part. And it is always unconditional. Even when we were sinners, it was the love of God for our souls that provided for our salvation. Let love be our motivation for helping more children find their way home.

The best compliment someone could ever give you is to say that you’re a lot like your Father. All else is relative to that.