Here’s the question, who do you want to be like? Who do you look up to? Why do you want to be like him/her? As I pondered this word and subject several ideas about role players/leaders came into my thought process. Maybe it is Mom or Dad that I want to be like or a brother or sister. Maybe it is a boss or co-worker. What about an athlete or coach? It could be a policeman/woman, fireman/woman, service man or woman. Could it be a teacher or preacher? Maybe an actor or possibly a good friend. We all have different interests and likes and the people we look up to, or want to be like, will vary greatly.
When I was in my mid teens, I had a preacher that I wanted to emulate and be like him. I watched what he did. I studied the methods he used. I started putting the ideas to work. I built sermons just like he did. I listened and observed how he taught his classes. His name was Al Tennant. As I got older in life, I used what I had learned from him. He became one of the most influential persons in my life. What I had learned from him in the way he taught became vital in my sales career. His way of teaching not only helped with relating to people but also in showing my product and why someone needed it. As I advanced in sales and became a sales manager the same teaching process that I had learned in my mid teens was still working into my 40’s-50’s and 60’s. He indeed was a valuable person to look up to, be like, and emulate. Thank you Al Tennant!!
I left one person for last on purpose. Jesus!! He was/is THE most looked up to person in my life. He is the one that I have tried to pattern my life after. Many times I think Jesus gets put last in lives, when, indeed, He should be number one. In 1st Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells the church in Corinth to be imitators of him because, ” I am of Christ.” 3rd John verse 11 says to imitate good.
Back to the original question. Who do you imitate? The Bible teaches us to not be followers of men, but, to be followers of Jesus.
