“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” You have likely heard that proverb. It is attributed to Charles Caleb Cotton, the eccentric English collector, cleric and writer, who lived from 1780-1832. The 19th-century Irish writer Oscar Wilde expanded Cotton’s quote like this – “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

We are a society that imitates others. After Dorothy Hamill became the figure skating champion at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, every little girl (and many mothers) wanted the wedge haircut made so famous by her. There are innumerable Elvis impersonators all across our country, none of which sing quite like Elvis.

As a young boy living in Ohio, I tried to model my baseball playing after Pete Rose. I wore his #14, crouched like him in the batter’s box, hustled around the bases, and even slid headfirst. But let me be clear about one thing I did not do. I did not gamble like Pete. When I wasn’t trying to be like Pete, I pretended to be like his Big Red Machine teammate, Johnny Bench. However, no matter how much I imitated those players, I did not play baseball as well as them. Little boys often imitate their dads, and little girls, their moms, but in the end, those children need to develop their own style, become their own unique person.

We are all made in God’s image. This theological doctrine, with its origin in Genesis 1:27, is known as imago dei. This two-word phrase comes from the Latin version of the Bible (Vulgate), simply meaning “image of God.” There is much I could say about the meaning and significance of imago dei, too much for this writing, so I’ll simply say this – human beings are created with unique attributes, attributes absent in all other creatures, that mirror the image of God. This mirror is as all mirrors are, a reflection of the real thing. This means that every single person has intrinsic value, innate dignity, and inborn esteem. Why? Simple. Because we are all created in the image of God.    

While we are image-bearers of God, we are also uniquely made. Psalm 139:14 tells us that God has wonderfully made each of us. He has made us in a unique way, for a unique purpose. When we attempt to be like others, in style or substance, we most often fail, leading to discouragement and defeat. We are not to imitate others, but rather, throughout the New Testament we are called to be imitators of Jesus, of God in the flesh. (See Ephesians 5:1; 1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21; Colossians 3:10.)

Who are you modeling your life after? Who are you trying to copy? Are you imitating Jesus or someone else? Be who God made you to be, and in doing so, strive to be like Jesus. You are an original, you are God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). Imitating others leads to disappointment and frustration. Imitating God, through modeling all that Jesus teaches, by the power of the Holy Spirit, leads to changed lives, ours, and others. I often say it this way – God is the initiator; Jesus is the implementer; and the Spirit, the energizer.

So, find your lane, the lane God has for you, embrace it, and stay in it. You and the world will be glad you do. Be the original imitation that you were made to be!  

Tomorrow I will again look at this idea of the image of God, asking the question, “Why am I here?”

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

We all need boosts of energy from time to time. There are many good and healthy ways to boost your energy, and there are many not so good ways. That first sip of coffee in the morning is the jolt that many people need to get moving. The rise of energy drinks is driven by the fact that they are loaded with ingredients that provide mental and physical stimulation. Whatever the source of the energy boost, it is only temporary. Soon another boost is needed.

Back in my high school and college athletic days, before stepping onto the football field or the track, we ate foods with lots of carbohydrates, since carbs are the body’s best source of energy. I have it from a reliable source that on occasion other not approved methods were also used, in an attempt to gain an edge on our competitors. More power. More speed. More stamina. More energy. More adrenaline. Regardless of its source, the gain was only temporary. It sometimes also only had a limited effect. If any effect at all.

We do have one power source that can lead and guide us every day. An unlimited power source. A power source that is always on. To live the lives God intends us to live, we need a Helper. Before his death, Jesus promises that a Helper will come – “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

After His resurrection, and before His ascension into Heaven, Jesus tells the disciples this, found in Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

God has given us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct our steps. To be our power source. When you invite Jesus into your heart you also get the Holy Spirit as part of that transaction – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).Similar language is found in Ephesians 1:13. Scripture goes even further, stating that a person is not a believer without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9).  

In the IndyCar racing series, there is technology called push-to-pass, which is a mechanism that provides the driver with the ability to increase the car’s horsepower for a short period of time. The driver is only allotted so many seconds of this power boost during each race so it must be used wisely to give the most benefit. Additionally, push-to-pass is only allowed to be used in certain situations during the race.

Unlike the methods you might use to temporarily boost your energy, tapping into the Holy Spirit gives you a permanent boost in power and wisdom, producing spiritual fruit that is evident in your life. And unlike the limited amount of power boost allowed in auto racing, the Spirit gives you an unlimited, always accessible, always on, power source.

Are you asking the Holy Spirit for power on a daily basis? He is your unlimited power source. A power source that is always on.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Have you ever been doing something and it didn’t go as planned? You have a strategy for achieving an objective. But somewhere along the line, things began to go sideways and you needed to come up with an alternative strategy, a Game Plan B.

You have a plan to increase sales at work, a well thought out strategic plan, but then a pandemic hits, and suddenly you are faced with declining sales, so you quickly need to devise a Game Plan B. In any sporting event, both teams have a game plan that focuses on their strengths while exploiting the other team’s weaknesses, but when a star player goes down with injuries, adjustments to that plan will need to be made, a Game Plan B. Or maybe you have a plan to get out of debt this year, but when you face an unexpected major home repair that costs thousands of dollars, forcing you to dip into what little savings you have, you need to regroup and come up with a new plan, a Game Plan B.

In the first few pages of the Bible, on the surface, it looks like God’s well laid out of creating mankind in His image (Genesis 1:26) goes awry when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. The truth is God did not have an “Oh crap” moment and suddenly be forced to come up with a Game Plan B.  

You might be asking, who is “us” in Genesis 1:26. The Hebrew word for God used here is Elohim, the plural of El, which is the singular noun for God. Thus, here God is talking to the members of the Trinity. So, you see, not only was God (singular) present from before the creation of the earth, also were Jesus and the Spirit present as well. There are some who believe God was talking to the angels in this verse. I personally do not believe that to be true. I see no other indication anywhere in scripture that the angels were involved in creation.

I believe that God was not surprised at all, for the Fall served His original and only plan: to offer His Son as a perfect sacrifice to redeem and restore that which was lost in the Garden. The opening verses of Ephesians seem to make this evident. He predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will (1:5), and we find this a few verse later – “making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (vv.9-10).

In 1 Peter, we find a similar confirmation that God’s plan, despite an apparent need for a Game Plan B, was not thwarted in the Garden. Here is what we read – “He (Jesus) was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (vv.1:20-21).

So, as you see your plans spin out of control and you are constantly coming up with Game Plan B (and maybe C, D, and E), you can have confidence that God is still working out His plan of redemption and restoration, a plan that has not changed from before the foundation of time! He is continuing His original plan of inviting you and I, and our messes, to His banquet table, to feast and enjoy His presence for ever and ever. I will end with this – “You led me to your banquet room and showered me with love” (Song of Solomon 2:4, CEV).  

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Imagine for a minute that you are running for your life with your enemy chasing you (and I am talking “big” enemy!). When you look up ahead for an escape route all you see are mountains that seem as tall as Mount Everest and a river that looks to be very deep and very wide. At that moment fear sets in as you have nowhere to turn. Ever have one of those moments? Maybe you are in one right now.

Be honest, there are just some things we face that seem too big to handle. The mountain looks too high to climb. The river looks more like an raging sea than it does a river. The hole is simply too big to climb out of. All you see around you are walls closing in on you. There just seems to be no way out. Where do you turn for help?    

You probably know the story of the parting of the Red Sea found in Exodus 13:17-14:31. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, agreed to let the Hebrew people go as Moses had asked. Moses is leading the people of Israel out of slavery into the land of Canaan. After the Hebrews left Egypt, Pharaoh changed his mind and was angry that he had lost his slave laborers, so he ordered his army to chase after the Israelites in their chariots. Soon the army caught up to them and the Israelites were trapped in by the mountains on both sides and the Red Sea that was in front of them. As Pharaoh’s army got closer the Hebrew people were terrified and angry – “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (14:12).

When the pressure was on, the Israelites had forgotten all that God had done for them in the past. Can you relate to that? I sure can.  

But God was faithful despite the lack of faith of the people. God told Moses to “raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground” (14:16).The river turned into dry land and the Israelites safely crossed it (14:21-22). Then God told Moses to “stretch out your hand over the seas so the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen” (14:26). The waters rolled back in, killing all the soldiers and their horses (14:27-28).

“But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left” (14:29).

So, what did the Israelites think of what had just happened? A few verses later we read this – “And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (14:31).

(Fear of the Lord is not a “scared” fear but a “positive” fear; one of reverence and respect, not wanting to disappoint God, a unique mix of awe and trembling that we feel in His presence. To dig deeper, click here to read one of my previous posts.)

Years later, the writer of Psalm 66 remembers how God showed his power in bringing Israel through both the Red Sea and later, through the Jordan River (Joshua 3). Here is what we read – “He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him” (Psalm 66:6).

What God did for the Israelites He will do for you! In your moment of fear, will you trust God to protect you? Will you trust God to turn the raging sea into dry land so you can safely pass through?

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

There is much that is missing from today’s culture. Just to mention four things off the top of my head. How about honesty, morality, empathy, respect. Imagine what the world would look like if any of those four was lived out in any greater measure than seems to be present today. Now allow me to add a fifth: kindness. A little does of kindness goes a long way.

I am of the opinion that kindness is one of the most important virtues that a person can have. Someone calling me kind is a high compliment. Kindness can be defined as being considerate of another’s feelings. It is generous. It is friendly. It is going out of our way to help someone else. Kindness often creates a cycle of kindness, with others wanting to pay forward the kindness they received. A little dose of kindness goes a long way. It has a ripple effect.

Ralph Waldo Emerson understood this pay it forward mentality. In his essay titled “Compensation,” he wrote – “In the order of nature we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody. Beware of too much good staying in your hand. It will fast corrupt and worm worms. Pay it away quickly in some sort.”

Woody Hayes, the legendary football coach at The Ohio State University, regularly misquoted Emerson but delivered a similar message – “You can never pay back but you can always pay forward.”

A dose of kindness, even a little dose, would begin to heal much of the world’s wounds. Kindness is possible even amid disagreement. It is respecting another person despite differences we might have with them. Kindness is walking out the proverbial Golden Rule. It is Jesus who first initiated this idea – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

The Bible has much to say about kindness. Repeatedly, God is called kind and compassionate. Kindness is one of the “fruit” qualities found in Galatians 5:22 that should exude from those who call themselves Jesus-followers. Similarly, it is one of the virtues (Colossians 3:12-14) we are called to the clothed in when putting on our new self that comes from being joined with Jesus. Love is patient, it is kind. Kindness of words is delicious, healthy and healing: “Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body” (Proverbs 16:24, NLT).

Throughout the millennia, there continues to be ongoing debate as to whether or not we are born kind. Regardless of whether humans are born with kindness genes, kindness is a learned behavior. We learn from, and emulate, those we watch. Kindness can be(come) a chosen response.

Take a minute and ask yourself this simple question – who can I be kinder to? When we are kind, we help make the world a better place. A little dose of kindness goes a long way. It gets paid forward. It has a ripple effect.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

You are driving up the side of a mountain, driving at a slow rate of speed, and at times the road is both narrow and treacherous. If it wasn’t for the guardrails, one slip of your tire and down the side of the mountain you go.

Maybe, instead, you are on California’s legendary Pacific Coast Highway, one of the most scenic drives in the world. The view overlooking the ocean is spectacular, but again, without guardrails, one accidental jerk of the steering wheel and you had better hope your car has a built-in floatation device.

Guardrails keep vehicles from entering dangerous or off-limit areas. In the event your car does drift off the road, they also help to minimize damage by keeping you in the safety zone. Guardrails usually start ahead of the danger area before you actually need them.

Not only are there guardrails along roads, think of all the places you go in which some sort of barrier, a guardrail, is put up to keep you from falling or entering off-limit areas. The railing on your hotel balcony is nothing more than a guardrail, to keep you from falling. The guard in front of a piece of machinery is also a guardrail, intended to help prevent injury to the worker. That railing around the seal pool at the zoo is a guardrail to prevent you from falling or jumping into the water. The fence around your yard ; it helps to keep people you’ve not invited out of your yard. It too is a guardrail.

The orange cones in construction areas are nothing more than guardrails to keep cars from entering the work zone.

We need guardrails in life as well. We need guardrails to keep us from those dangerous and off-limit people, places, and things that can derail us, causing and creating harm to us and others. God has given us freedom of choice (free will) to do and say as we please, and without guardrails, because of our sinful nature, we will invariably find our way into destructive places.

God calls us to read His Word and listen to His Spirit in order to avoid danger zones. Paul tells us this in Ephesians 5:17 – “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” We all have enormous capacity for self-deception; that innate ability to rationalize our desire, but by tuning into God’s will we have guardrails to protect us from handing control of our lives over to someone or something other than Him.     

We are to seek God’s wisdom to guide our lives, allowing us to grow in maturity, building personal guardrails around us. Here is what we read in 2 Timothy 2:22 – “So flee youthful passions [inclinations of your mind] and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

So, when you find yourself drifting off the road or straying into dangerous and off-limit areas, know that God’s guardrails help you veer back onto the pavement or climb back to safety– “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.