Thursday, April 20, 2006

Role models

Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18).

A gentleman had a lovely Chinese plaque with fanciful raised figures worked into its surface. One day it fell from the wall on which it was hung, and was cracked right through its center. Without delay, the gentleman sent to China for six more of these valuable plates--and to ensure an exact match, he sent his broken plate as a copy. After a wait of six months, he received his carefully wrapped shipment. To his astonishment, he found that the Chinese had copied his sample so faithfully that each new plate had a crack across it, exactly like the plate he had sent as an example.

It is natural for us to look to others for inspiration. Children often want to go into the field of education when they grow up because of the example of a favorite teacher. Prominent sports figures stir a desire for fame and fortune among their fans. Hollywood celebrities inspire many people to imitate their fashions and lifestyle choices.

The trouble is, no one is perfect. Sports figures can set a personal example of greed and misuse of drugs. Best-selling singers can set a personal example suggesting that beauty is more important than character. Talk show hosts can set a personal example that dismisses the importance of marriage or distorts its meaning. If we decide to imitate other human beings, we will inevitably imitate their flaws as well.

There is only one person who is without flaws—Jesus Christ. The Son of God lived a perfect life; the Bible tells us that He has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. He lived a perfect life as an example for us, because there is no one else who we can look to as a faultless role model—according to Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is why Jesus said: I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (John 13:15). Of course, none of us can be perfect like Jesus—that is why it was necessary that He die for us, so that we can be forgiven for our imperfections. But it is impossible to even approach perfection if we choose to imitate other flawed human beings instead of the perfect Son of God.

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