We were camping with friends under the trees, and it was peaceful. Their grandchildren were there too. Well-behaved children with good manners and it was a pleasure to watch them. 

The little girl was five years old and the little boy, two. You could call them two peas in a pod, but that’s not the correct proverb, because the little girl did what she wanted, and her brother copied her. To say he was her shadow was a much better way of describing them. 

When she said something, her brother repeated it after her exactly the way she said it. Almost like an echo. When she hopped, skipped and jumped, he did it too, and that made me laugh softly, because he wasn’t as sure-footed as her yet. On the contrary! He was still very clumsy. 

But we should do what he did. We must act the way Jesus did. We must live the way Jesus lived here on earth. We must copy Jesus the way the little boy copied his sister. 

It’s not me saying this, but the Bible: 3… All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own. 

When I read this verse, I see the little boy stumbling clumsily every now and then. No, I actually see something much worse. I see an elephant that wants to dance like a ballerina. Stumbling around. 

When I try not to do wrong things and when I want to live cleanly, I slip and fall into the mud. When someone does something I don’t quite like, my tongue is awkward, and things that could’ve been left unsaid are said. 

When a taxi cuts me off, I try to close the gap to keep him out, but, of course, he’s not shy about shoving his beat-up taxi in front of my truck. I have to give way, and the gestures that follow speak volumes – wrong volumes. A whole lot of clumsy, angry hand motions. 

I wonder what Jesus would’ve said if someone did something he didn’t like? Well, it certainly wouldn’t have been a clumsy tongue. I wonder what gestures Jesus would’ve used if someone had tried to cut Him off? Well, there certainly wouldn’t have been clumsy gestures. 

This is not new. We’re all familiar with the WWJD wristbands: What would Jesus do? We know we must walk as Jesus walked on earth, living as He lived. 

Maybe we should be honest with each other and admit that we struggle with this. I suspect we were hit too hard back there in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. 

That’s no excuse and we shouldn’t, so to speak, sit idly by and simply let things take their course. We have to do something. We must stop ourselves from repeatedly falling into the same trap, constantly repeating our mistakes. 

Yes, let us be like the little boy who imitated his sister and did everything she did. Let us imitate Jesus and do as He did, even if we are clumsy, even if we look like elephants. Let us just do as Jesus did. Then the world will look different! 

Scripture
1 John 3:1-3 

Reflection
Where are you still stepping into the hole?
Where must you do differently?
Where must you go and make a difference to others, like Jesus did? 

Prayer
Jesus, thank you for the example. I know I must change my way of life. Help me do like You did, even if I’m clumsy. Amen.