Imitators

Last weekend, I spent some time with friends from out of town. It was a really nice visit and a relaxing time away from home for me. I was extremely blessed to be able to spend a lot of time around my friends' young kids, Cameron and J.Paul, because they taught me something that I feel like I knew but didn't understand.

The first afternoon that I spent with this family was so fun. I watched as Cameron ran around the house playing with puppets, then I saw J. Paul go grab a puppet to play with his sister. The next thing I knew, Cameron put her puppet away and started spinning around. J. Paul did the same. I realized very quickly that J. Paul was watching every single thing that Cameron did and then imitating it.

J. Paul looks up to Cameron. He wants to be like his big sister. I've seen it my whole life - younger siblings look up to their older siblings. My younger sister really looks up to me. It's a way of life.

You may ask me, "What does that have to do with anything?" I'm so glad you asked.

You don't really have to be taught to be an imitator. As a child, you imitate what other people do. My younger sister imitated me and still does. J. Paul imitates Cameron. Children learn entire languages by imitating the sounds that they hear their parents make. Children imitate children and grow up to be adults who imitate other adults.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says,
"Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you..."

I've heard that verse so many times. I've been told to be an imitator of Christ, but what does that really mean?

I think it means that we're supposed to be like J. Paul with Cameron. We are supposed to study scripture and see what Christ is like: how he reacts to situations, how he talks to others, and how he "walks the walk." Then, we're supposed to do exactly the same thing. Watch, then imitate. (Which means, my friends, that we should be digging into those scriptures.)

As I look around at others and look at my own life, I see that a lot of people imitate a lot of things. How many people who call themselves "Christian" are actual imitators of Christ?

As I watched J. Paul imitate Cameron, I thought about my own walk. Sure, I have some Christlike qualities, but am I an active imitator of Christ? I'd like to think so, but I feel like I have a lot to work on.

As I thought about that, I realized that I really need to strive more to be an imitator of Christ because when I looked at my own life, I realized that there are a lot of people watching me with some people even imitating me in my family, in my hometown, and even in college.

I want to be like Paul. I want to be comfortable saying, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ (1 Cor 11:1)."

You, Mr. or Ms. Reader, are being watched by someone. I don't know if you know it, but you are. Who are you imitating? If you're a Christian, I pray that it is Christ and this has touched you in some way.

People are watching you. If they imitate you, will they in turn be imitating Christ?