Imitation

Our granddaughter, Bexlie, adores her grandmother and tries to imitate everything Ana does. If Ana eats something, Bexlie wants some. If she coughs, Bexlie coughs. If she vacuums the floor, Bexlie grabs her toy vacuum and joins her Nana. No matter what Ana does, Bexlie does her best to do the same.

The other day Ana was bending down to clean something off the floor with a cloth. When she did this she leaned on the coffee table with one hand, while wiping the mess up with the other. Bexlie immediately ran and got a cloth and, leaning on the coffee table like Ana, enthusiastically wiped the already clean floor, declaring the whole time, “Bexlie help. Bexlie help.”

Bexlie wants to be like Ana and our Heavenly Father wants us to be like Him. Paul tells us we should “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1 NLT).

Just like Bexlie loves to imitate her Nana, so should we strive to be more and more like God, imitating Him in everything we do. Our highest goal should be to be like Jesus. And what was Jesus like? Matthew 20:28 says “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What a difference this would make in our relationships with others if we chose each day to be like Jesus, to serve, instead of expecting to be served. Instead of retaliating when someone wrongs us, we would turn the other cheek. Instead of words of anger, we’d respond with love. Instead of turning our back on another’s pain, we’d walk with them through the valley, even carrying them if we had too.

Bexlie wants to be like Ana. Someday, as she gets to know Jesus, I hope she’ll want to be like Him too. In the meantime, Ana and I will continue to try to set her an example, by striving to imitate God and live like Jesus everyday. I hope you’ll do the same for those you meet today.

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“Be like Jesus, this my song,
In the home and in the throng;
Be like Jesus, all day long!
I would be like Jesus.”

James Rowe