It never ceases to amaze me the impact that people can have on others, especially children. I spend a lot of time with children and on a regular basis I see them imitate actions and words of those they are around. Today I was with one of my friends who has a three year old boy. The family is very involved in the worship aspect of the church and the little boy is always at the rehearsals Sunday morning and sits in the service for the singing portion. Today he wanted to play "the band." He set up a drum set, key board, two guitars, a bass (all with amps) and a sound board. He assigned everyone a person in the band to be. I was Mandi, the sound board person. His mother was Justin, the keyboardist and David, the drummer. When Mandi asked who Caden was he said, "Bradley" It was hilarious to watch him. He held his guitar and stood just like Brad. He put his music on a stand and pushed it off just like Brad. He even held the pick in his mouth just like Brad. It's funny to me because it did not stop there. One thing that one needs to know is that this campus needs to be set-up and torn down every week, and all the musicians help to do this. Every week Justin asks someone to help him move the keyboard. Well, Caden was moving his keyboard and was saying..."I am Bradley. I have muscles. I can move the keyboard by myself." and then he proceeded to carry it over his head. It was so cute. Everything he did was exactly like Brad does it. Caden is not the only child that I have seen this in. Watching him today made me think about myself and how do I emulate people that I look up to. Most importantly how do I emulate Jesus Christ. Do I look at Christ and imitate his life and his actions the same way with the same amount of admiration and detail that these children look up to those they admire? Unfortunately I don't and that is something that I regret to say, but it is something to work on. It is something to strive for. To be more Christ-like.
Also, I don't know who is watching me. I am reminded of the verse that says, "Even a child is known my his actions by whether his conduct is pure and right." This goes beyond simply living my life, but being a good example of who Christ is and how He impacts my life. I have no idea who is watching me, but I do know that actions speak louder than words. Living in the world my life should look different. It should look like Christ!
Who would have thought that God would have taught me such a powerful and simple, but hard lesson through the play of a child.
