Yesterday my wife and I visited our local Zoo and as we were there without our children we spent a lot longer watching individual animals than we would usually do.
As I watched this Orangutan I became aware that I was being watched as well.
I looked down and a young boy was staring back up at me.
His mum kept pointing at the Orangutan, but for reasons that I can’t explain to you, the boy kept looking at me.
It certainly was a strange moment as the toddler spent a long time watching me to see what I was doing rather than looking at the animals around him.
As I was thinking about this just now, I remembered the Bible verse:
‘Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ’ (1 Corinthians 11.1).
Paul, who wrote this felt that there were things in his faith that were going so well that people could look at and follow them as an example.
How about us?
Are we trying to imitate Jesus?
If we are, then there must be things in our lives that are worth imitating as well!
We should live out our faith well, passionately and enthusiastically, not just for our own sake but also so that we can inspire others.
I spent at least half an hour watching the Orangutan. Actually the truth is that I spent at least half an hour trying to photograph him through the glass without any reflections in it. It was a difficult picture to take, but having the time to watch and to persevere meant that I got a reasonable photo in the end.
Are we willing to let people see our faith as we live it out and talk about it honestly and openly or will we put barriers in the way to hide it?
Whilst we might have things about us that are worth imitating, we are also all a work in progress.
I do hope that there are things about me that inspire you, but mostly I hope that you are looking to Jesus who is always inspirational and who is consistently worth imitating.
Honest about my faith 