I have a book titled Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado. The title begs the question: Is anyone just like Jesus? The short answer is no, no one is just like Jesus. I have another book titled The Imitation of Christ. Those of us who seek to be like Jesus Christ try as best we can to imitate him. Can anyone looking at someone seeking to imitate Jesus see Jesus in that person? That all depends on how close we walk with Jesus.

The picture above is of me and my mom. One day I was taking my mom to church and my sister surreptitiously took the picture. I am walking arm-in-arm with my mother and our steps appear to be in sync. I ask myself: Am I walking arm-in-arm with Jesus and how in sync are we? It is a simple question, but one with great ramifications. How close is my walk with Jesus? That is a question that I ask myself from time to time. Unfortunately, if I am honest, the answer is…not very close. It is a work in progress.

In 1 John 2:6 we read: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” That is the challenge…how well do we walk the walk? So I undertake this exercise: I imagine that in the picture above it is not me and my mom, but me and Jesus Christ, walking arm-in-arm and, to the best of my ability, in sync. I know, that is a very lofty aspiration, one that is attained by so few, but one worth pursuing. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul states: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” If we seek to walk arm-in-arm with Jesus and imitate him as best we can, then we are, I think, as best we can given our human limitations, striving to be “just like” Jesus.