I was dropping my youngest son off at school the other day when the Music Teacher came up to me. She told me that my son had announced that he was going to be a musician just like his dad. At first, I must admit, I was very touched and full of love for my little boy – how cool that he wanted be like me!
The incident stuck with me through the rest of that day and kept cropping up in my mind… but as the day went on, it lost some of its shimmer. After a hasty, snarky comment I remembered it… after I let my thoughts wander, I remembered it… after I wasted some effort on unproductive activities, I remembered it… how much of ‘me’ do I really want my boys to imitate? And for that matter, what parts of ‘me’ are making the biggest impact on them?
The apostle Paul put it this way, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9) He doesn’t stop at the official press release… not just what you have learned about me on my web site where I can control how I appear… he includes it all… what you have learned from me, received from me, heard from me (the controllable factors) as well as what you have seen in me (the uncontrollable). In other words, balance what I say (in the guarded moments) with how I act (in the unguarded moments) and the sum of that shows you who and what I really believe.
I have often heard it said that people will see the real you whether you want them to or not. No matter how hard we try to whitewash the outside, patch up the cracks and smooth the sharp edges, eventually our real selves will be seen. This, I think, is true for everyone regardless of race, gender or philosophy. But, as a Christian, this takes on a deeper meaning… when we are honest about our faith, we want others to see not just us, but Jesus sanctifying us by His presence in us. And what critics of our Faith often bring up is the way we blur that. What they see is not Jesus in us, but rather us standing in front of Him and using faith as a tool to get something.
So, back to my son and his comment… knowing that he will see the real me and have to reconcile that with the ‘web site’ me… I want to actually become the man that is worth imitating. I want to become the man after God’s own heart, as David was described. I want the me inside to match the me outside and know that both inside and out, I am being sanctified by His presence.
