No Cheap Imitation

What comes to mind when you hear the word imitation?  Does it bring to mind something fake that is only a representation of something real?    Do you think of cubic zirconia, or the seafood package labeled "imitation crab?"  There's nothing wrong with these things, they are acceptable as what they actually are, but we don't want to be fooled by their appearance.  Not all imitation is a cheap attempt to replicate something that cannot be manufactured; there is a kind that is genuine.  When someone inspires us, we want to be like them.  We may adapt our appearance, speech or behavior to gain the qualities that draw us to them.  While it is important to be ourselves, people often do adopt characteristics that they learn from others that they admire.

When I was a girl my mama used to tell me that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery.  I certainly had my doubts about that.  When younger kids would "copy" me I found it bothersome and annoying. No doubt there is a type of imitation that is meant as mockery, but there is also a type that should give the one being imitated a sense of responsibility to be a worthy leader.  After all, what are imitators but followers?  In the Bible we find statements like, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."  Ephesians 5:1 and, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:1.  As a child I was too immature to realize that being imitated is an amazing opportunity, but now that I am seasoned I am beginning to understand that God uses this type of relationship to build His Kingdom.

On Thursday I was teaching a children's Bible class when a little girl in kindergarten got my attention and told me that she plays church at home.  I wanted to affirm her for having a heart for the things of God, but wasn't at all expecting what I heard next.  "I pretend to teach like you."  I don't think that child could possibly know what an encouragement her confession was to me.  It is too easy to become discouraged as a teacher when you have kids who are putting all there energy into disrupting the class and trying to prevent the message from being clearly delivered.  To know that there is one child there who would actually go home and play out the act of teaching is enough to keep me going for a while.  

I wonder who she teaches and what her message is.  Does she set up her dolls and tell them about the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, or the parable of the talents.  Does she remind her class over and over that Jesus died in their place so their sins could be forgiven if they believe on Him?  Maybe she has a little brother or sister she can teach.  I remember telling the kids a couple of weeks ago that they can practice telling their pets the good news so that they will feel more confident when they have a chance to share with a person.  To hear that one of the kids is really practicing at home is such a blessing.  At five or six years old, God is preparing this little girls heart to teach, and I believe He is going to use her.  He already has!  As often happens the student has opened the eyes of the teacher.

I can't go back and undo the messes I made in my past by allowing imitation to frustrate me, but from where I am I can become the leader God created me to be.  I can embrace the opportunity to show others how to be like Christ.  I must continually point the way to Him, and be an imitator of God, so that when others see something in me they would like to become they will understand that it's really Him in me.  It is a great responsibility, but also a great privilege and joy.  "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?"  1 Thessalonians 2:19