I didn’t quite understand what the big deal was when my kids were little, but there was this complaint I sometimes heard from the girls and their friends during their elementary school years — “They copied!”
Apparently, if a kid at school were popular, other kids would try to piggyback on that popularity by imitating the words and behavior of the popular kid.
And, apparently, the kids being copied believed that their way of living was like a copyright protected brand that others had no right to imitate.
Hmmmm…. funny how peer pressure and the desire to be unique are in such dynamic tension.
When it comes to Christian living, we’re commanded to “copy.”
Jesus said we should live as He lived. The Apostle Paul called us to live out our faith as he sought to imitate Christ in his life.
There’s no question that we’ll be better off if we live more like Jesus instead of giving in more to our own passions and personal patterns.
Here’s a passage from today’s devotional reading that we should all strive to copy:
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” (Psalm 103:8)
Compassionate and merciful.
Slow to get angry.
Filled with unfailing love.
These words from Psalm 103:8 should describe our way of living.
We should become sanctified copycats.
Would this approach help our family relationships? Yes.
Our workplace relationships? Yes.
Our congregational or our neighborhood relationships? Yes and yes.
Let’s copy.
It’s what God wants.
As always, I love you
Martin
