Who is Your Role Model?

Philippians 3:17 Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. Also, learn by watching those who are living the way we showed you.

I don’t think there’s any one of us who doesn’t want a better life. I don’t just mean worldly things like comfort and success. Sure, they’re nice. But mostly “a better life” involves changes within – changes in us.

As you look back on just this past week, doubtless you’ve had a few, shall we call them … lumps and bumps – things that didn’t go quite the way you’d expected, things that caused friction, that hurt, that – if you had your time over – wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.

And in a moment of brutal honesty, we’d each have to admit that we had our part to play in those incidents. That’s why that “better life” involves us learning, changing, overcoming our foibles and failures.

Now, there’s a reason that carpentry isn’t taught primarily in the classroom. Instead, young aspiring carpenters are taken on as apprentices, so they can learn the practical skills of their trade on the job.

They watch more experienced carpenters, and then copy them over and over again until they become proficient. As things turn out, it’s the same in life generally. This is how the Apostle Paul put it to his friends in Philippi:

Philippians 3:17 Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. Also, learn by watching those who are living the way we showed you.

Over the years, on my journey with Jesus, much of what I’ve learned has been “on the job training” – watching those who are wiser and more mature than me walk alongside Jesus; seeing how they react under pressure; being inspired by their humility and their godliness.

Call them mentors, call them role models. They have such an important part to play in our lives.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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