A few days ago, I apparently left my shoes out in the living room. My 3-year-old comes running to me to show that she was wearing my shoes. When my 4-year-old saw me smiling, she asked if she could wear my shoes too. I tossed her a pair of my shoes and sat back to watch.
My daughters ran around the house calling each other “mommy” while pretending to do my chores. One of them pretended to dust, while the other was asking if she could make her sister lunch. The whole time they were shuffling around in shoes WAY too big for them.
I just smiled. It was honestly adorable to watch my girls imitate me. It was also a sigh of relief to see them modeling some of my good traits.
Sitting back smiling as they imitated me actually had me wondering if this even a fraction of how God must feel when we make the effort to imitate His Son?
I mean my kids could imitate me and probably not be modeling the best behavior. (I’m human after all…) But when we imitate Jesus, we are shining His light into a world that is filled with darkness. We are showing the world how awesome He is! Everything good and perfect comes from Him!
Jesus told his disciples, “Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father…” (John 14:9) In other words, Jesus did only what He saw His Father do. By observing the character and actions of Jesus, we see the nature of God the Father! Everything Jesus did was to do the Will of His Father and bring Him glory!
When people see me, do they see Jesus? Do my actions reveal that God is alive in me and shine His light?
Do I take the time to pray and devote time to God like Jesus did?
Do I show love and talk to the outcast or those who are racially or culturally different than me like Jesus did with the Samaritan woman… or do avoid them?
Do I pray for those who are sick and hurting when they ask for prayer? Or do I simply say, “Oh yes, I will pray for you…” and then forget?
Imitating Jesus is not an easy thing to do. We are called to be set apart, called to shine His light for all to see. We are supposed to be different. John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” We do not want to simply honor God with our lips, but also with our hearts. Our actions are an overflow of our hearts. So today, make an effort to imitate Jesus. Make an effort to show His love for His glory.
As I put on my shoes that my kids once used to imitate me, I pray that God will help me imitate Him and show the world His goodness!