imitation of Christ – Versus to Verses

Walking the Walk…

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.

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April 1

A Sliver of Christ

If I could be a sliver of Christ
A slim, barely noticeable sliver
If I could convey a sliver of his love
However small it may appear
If I could imitate a sliver of his charity
A sliver of Christ I would be

If I could offer a sliver of his friendship
Narrow as it might seem
If I could exhibit a sliver of his compassion
Though barely visible to the naked eye
If I could model a sliver of his kindness
A sliver of Christ I would be

If I could emulate a sliver of his obedience
No matter how slight it may seem
If I could show a sliver of his mercy
No matter how limited that may be
If I could reveal a sliver of his glory
A sliver of Christ I would be

If I could exemplify a sliver of his humility
No matter how minute such may be
If I could express a sliver of his humanity
For all of humanity to see
If I could reflect a sliver of his divinity
A sliver of Christ I would be

If I could but a sliver be
A sliver of Christ I would be

As Christians around the world quickly approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I humbly offer this poem. I have a little book titled The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. I have had it since high school, more than forty years. I hope that during all that time I have reflected a sliver of Christ to others. The world has been going though a dark winter. May we as Christians shine a sliver of Christ’s light and may all those slivers of light show the way out of the darkness: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).

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