Imitation

                     Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11)

          I know I’ve shared this before, but there’s a great scene from Jaws that this verse brings to mind. (Father And Son).  I could probably stop writing because it’s such a good commentary on this verse all by itself, but I’m a writer, and I need the words even if you don’t.

          First, we have a choice. We are going to imitate someone or something, even if we think we’re striking out on our own or being original. But we can choose who or what we imitate.

          Secondly, as with the son in the movie, our imitation must come after the act (or after so many repetitions of the act that we know it’s coming) and is likely to be imperfect. The son uses his hands when he makes a face. The father doesn’t break into the moment with “No, no, no. Let’s try it again.”  There might be times when he’s trying to teach his son something that he might correct the error, but in this case, adding hands doesn’t ruin the imitation.

          Thirdly, we can’t imitate what we haven’t seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. If we are doing evil, we haven’t seen God and therefore can’t imitate Him.

          This leaves us with two questions. Who/what will we imitate? What aspect or behavior will we imitate?