Read It, Learn It,
Live It, Share It
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” – John
13:15
They are
watching every little thing you do. Most
of us are careful to watch the words that come out of our mouth, try to control
our temper, don’t drink or smoke or do drugs around our children, because we
know that they are little sponges and pick up on our actions. My 7 year old comes in the other day while I’m
brushing my teeth. He’s standing behind
me looking at me in the mirror, and I watch as he begins making the motions
with his hand near his mouth, the same as I am making with my toothbrush. He’s opening his mouth and pretending to
brush way in the back, and then when I leaned over to spit out the toothpaste,
he did the same. With an empty mouth I
asked him, “What are you doing, you don’t have a toothbrush?” His answer was simple, “Practicing.”We learn from watching others, and they learn from watching you. It’s not only the big stuff that the little ones around you pick up on it’s everything. Their entire perspective on how to live life is learned from observing the world around them. If you aren’t happy with the patience your child is expressing, perhaps you might want to question where he/she got it from. If they through temper tantrums when they don’t get their way, you might want to evaluate your own ability to control your temper in difficult situations. But it’s not just the children that are learning from you.
Those at work, at school, at playgroup, at the gym or even at the mall are watching you. Not in a stalking sort of way, but in a way to observe how you deal with situations and circumstances. Your ability to draw upon the life of Jesus is the best example in all of time. He provided a life of love, grace, serving, passion and conviction. He held to the teaching from His Father in every circumstance and through every temptation. Paul, often reflects upon the character of Christ as our example, our benchmark if you will. Christ called us all to “follow Him” and to “…love others as I have loved you.” We search for what God wants from us, what we can do to demonstrate our love for Him. He seeks your obedience. He wants for you to follow in the footsteps of Christ and serve others in this world as He served. In this way, we are drawn to the compassion, grace and mercy of our King, which then is exemplified to those around us. Read your bible, go to church, learn as much as you can about God and His Son. The more you learn, the more you can teach – and there are millions who need to be taught.
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