“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.
– Ephesians 5:1-2a

What players did you imitate as a kid?  Growing up a huge baseball fan and watching the New York Yankees on the Game of the Week each Saturday, two of my favorite players were Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.  Living on a farm in rural South Carolina made it difficult to find enough players for a pick-up game, so it was common to spend a great deal of time figuring out ways to entertain myself. Many an afternoon would find me swinging at imaginary balls from my best Mickey Mantle stance or striking out another imaginary Major League hitter using my best Whitey Ford windup.  Little did it matter that I was not a switch hitter like Mantle nor did I throw left-handed like Ford.  What mattered was Mantle and Ford were my heroes  and I wanted to be just like them.

While most of us outgrow our childhood desire to imitate sports heroes, we can easily fall into the trap of imitating poor behaviors and lifestyles as adults.  The question we have to ask ourselves is this, “Who is the best model for our lives?”  The best way for us to connect with God is to imitate the life of His Son, Jesus Christ.  How often do we waste precious time and effort trying to pattern ourselves after the wrong people?  When we turn our lives over to Jesus, we become children of God.  We take on the family resemblance and should make every effort to uphold the family name.  We are to walk in love giving ourselves to others in Christian service.  This is what Jesus did for us.  Who is your model for life?  Are they worthy of following or do you need to make some adjustments?

Heavenly Father, You give us all we need.  Thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Help me to model my life today after His perfect example.  Amen.