Clothing comes in many styles. It’s fashion, done one way this year, and another the next. We alter the design, adding a pleat here, a wider collar there, maybe a contrasting stitch or two. What was current is updated, made modern, brought into the new decade.
We do it all with patterns, pieces of paper that tell us just where to cut, which seams to attach, and assure us the finished product will be exactly what we want it to be.
Yet, each shirt, dress, or pair of pants that comes from a singular pattern isn’t exactly the same. We may use a different fabric, or we might choose to follow Cut C instead of Cut A, giving us a slightly different fit, so that the resulting item of clothing is distinctly ours and not a cookie cutter design.
In the Church, Christ is our pattern. He’s the one upon whom we model our lives. We can change, update, bring into the new decade, and even choose a slightly different cut, but the pattern is Christ. He’s our design choice, and we will always resemble him, no matter the job we hold, the car we drive, or the current vocabulary we use for communication.
Acts 2:28 tells us:
“You have made known unto me the ways of life; you shall make me full of joy with your countenance.”
As Jesus walked a blameless path through God his father, so we are to pattern ourselves after him.
As Jesus felt a passion for right behavior in the house of the Lord, so we should practice decorum during church services.
As Jesus refused to compromise for material gain, so we should place our salvation before financial success.
As Jesus loved his disciples even as they rejected him, so we should be forgiving to our fellow Christians.
As Jesus gave up his life so that mankind could know true communion with God, so we should sacrifice in order that the message of the cross can be shared with all nations.
We are cut, styled, and stitched after the Son of God. His life is to be our example. We might choose our hair style, the location of our residence, and even our vacation plans; but our lives must resemble Jesus. He is our pattern of perfection, and we want to look just like him.
To mimic Jesus is to live the love he showed unto the world.
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