One day recently my youngest came running around the corner wearing a shirt that I just so happen to love. Now before I tell you what the shirt said on the front I need you to understand I did not buy this shirt for him. I’m honestly not sure where he got it from, but I just wanted it to be clear that I did not buy it for him. On the front of my son’s shirt, that I obviously love, are the words “Cool Like Dad”. This shirt makes me smile every time I see it on him, and I will be a little sad when he outgrows it. But while I do smile every time I see this shirt, those three words have the ability to bring a grown man to his knees. In those three little words you are seeing a comparison. You are seeing an example of where, in this case, a child has patterned themselves after a parent. For me the idea of being a good example for my children has been in my thoughts and in my mind since the moment I found out that I was going to be a dad. This is something that I think about, pray about, and talk about constantly with my wife.
In a healthy way, parents, and really all people, need to continually think about the example each of us are setting before others, and that would include our children. In numerous passages in scripture we are told who we are to pattern our lives after and what kind of an example we are to set for others. In Ephesians 5:1 we see that we are to be “imitators of God, as beloved children”. Children often imitate their parents or possibly an older sibling or relative. As children of God we are to be imitating Christ with our lives. As Christians we should be constantly examining our own lives to be sure that we are truly living for Him. Do the things we do and say show honor toward God by demonstrating godliness everywhere we go? As a Christian man, husband, father, and friend I need to be setting a Christ like example to my children and toward everyone I meet and know. This is actually something that we all must think about and consider. In scripture Paul frequently talked about the example he was trying to set and that we all should set for others. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul, in the context of giving all glory to God, said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” This is a bold statement that is worthy of imitation. Notice that Paul is not only aware that imitation takes place but he embraces it with a bold and yet humble attitude. Paul is not wanting glory for himself or just the flattery that comes with imitation, but instead he wants to set a standard for his own life and demonstrate that the One truly worthy of being imitated is Christ.
As a dad I love when my children imitate the good things that I do, but unfortunately not everything I do is always good. It sometimes takes a bad action on my childs part or maybe even some silly little t-shirt to wake me up so that I will pay better attention to the kind of example I am setting. Like the young man Timothy let us all strive to “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12).” Let us all strive daily to set a Christ-like example for all the world to see. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”
Derek Broome