Is Your Life Worth Following?

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 1:11

When my son, Caspian, was little, he was not eager to learn to talk.  Perhaps this was because his older sister, Daisy, never stopped talking!  She would babble on and on, and Caspian would just sit and listen to her.  He was also quite content to let Daisy talk for him.  I tried to discourage this, but she seemed to be able to read his mind and always knew what he wanted without him needing to say anything.  This went on for a long time, and beyond simple words like, “hi” and “dada,” Caspian said very little.  I was starting to worry that there was something wrong with him.  But then, one day, something amazing happened. 

I was standing at the stove cooking dinner when Caspian came toddling over to see what I was making.  He stood on his tiptoes and sniffed.  Then, as clear as day, he announced, “I want some of that!”

I stood there with my eyes wide.  This child had been holding out on me!  Here I was, worrying about his language abilities, when he spits out a five word sentence with no problems at all.  Seriously?!

Like many kids today, Caspian wanted to avoid doing something difficult.  To him, learning to talk was hard.  Letting his sister do it was easier, so he just let her.  He needed a compelling reason to do it himself, and the promise of food was a strong enough motivator for him to do something hard.  (He was right – that dinner was good!)

Your life needs to be like that: a compelling reason to follow Jesus.  If we’re honest, we know that following Jesus is rewarding, but also difficult.  It’s easy to get discouraged along the way.  If we want kids to really be His disciples, we’re going to need to give them a good reason for putting in the necessary work, especially when things are hard. 

Children are concrete thinkers, meaning that they best understand things that they can see, hear, and touch.  Most kids won’t begin acquiring abstract thinking and reasoning skills until they are eight years old, and even then, those skills take time to develop.  And yet we are trying to get kids to understand and follow a God who they cannot see, who is everywhere at once, who is three persons and also just one, and who made atonement for their present sins in the past because He is outside of time. Lord help us!  These are all abstract concepts!  How will we ever help them to make sense of it all?

The great news is that God has a plan for those concrete thinkers: the lives of His followers.  In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul explains that we are Christ’s ambassadors – His representatives to people who have never seen Him face to face.  The kids in our lives may struggle to understand how God can hear them, but they can witness that you listen to their needs.  They can see that you care about them.  They can experience God’s love through you as you act as Jesus would, right there, in front of them. 

So what do kids see when they look at your life?  Do they see anxiety, or peace?  Discouragement, or hope?  Impatience, or patience?  Concern for others, or a focus on yourself?

I’m not saying that your life needs to be perfect.  Jesus is the only one who can ever do that.  But I am saying that your life, as a growing Christian, should be a compelling reason for those around you to imitate you.

What if you’re not there yet?  Don’t worry – there’s always hope.  God is in the business of making all things new. Spend some time with Him this week.  Ask Him to show you what is in the way of your growth. 

I hope that one day, we can all hear the people around us echoing Caspian’s words as they look at our lives: “I want some of that!” 

Until next time,

MK