Whose Life Are You Imitating?

A few years ago I was at a dinner with numerous other guests. The evening's entertainment was provided by someone imitating a former president. His looks, mannerisms, and speech were amazingly accurate. When I first saw him the thought occurred to me that this was the actual president-the person this person was accurately imitating. Years ago I heard a person tell a group of students how, when he went to seminary, he was told to pick someone out from church history, to imitate. This person certainly had a long list of person to choose from. He chose Jesus.

We all, at one time or another, have tried to imitate someone else. Good or bad, real or imaginary, as a child or even now-we've all had those those moments of trying to be someone else. For some, those moments became much longer, becoming a lifetime pursuit. Elvis Presley attended one church my family attended. Okay, it wasn't really Elvis-just someone who made money impersonating Elvis in Las Vegas.

Not looking like Elvis or any president, I've chosen to be myself, while still striving to imitate one person's life. That person is God. In the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 5, verse 1 we are to follow God. Some translations read "imitate" in place of "follow." We are to imitate God. How? By acting like Jesus did, when He was here on Earth. The way to imitate Jesus is to find out in God's Word how Jesus acted and act like He did. In time we'll take on those characteristics of love, patience, and faithfulness-among others-which Jesus demonstrated in His earth walk.

Whose life are you imitating? A fictional character? A president or other public figure? Or God, through being like Jesus?