Following in His Footsteps

As my alarm attempted to wake me up one February morning in 2008, I grudgingly pushed back the blankets on my bed knowing another blanket of snow awaited me on my driveway.  I pulled on some old clothes and made my way downstairs, looking for my once-waterproof boots which have tromped through more snow this winter than the 3 previous winters combined.

The early bird of our family, my 4-year-old son, was eating breakfast already and greeted me with his cheerful boy-soprano “Daddy!” as I walked into the family area of our home to grab my winter coat.  His cheerfulness quickly turned to mourning – “Daddy, I don’t want you to leave!”

I reassured him that I was just going outside to shovel snow.  He immediately pushed his cereal bowl back and said “I want to come too!”

It is obvious – my son wants to be like me.  I see it in the way he tries to crack a joke at the family table.  I see it in the way he announces that the sport on TV is football.  I see it in the way he treats his sisters and brother.  I see it when he brings his toy laptop and sits down next to me on the couch as I work.  Whether I want to be or not, I am my son's hero (yes, that is an invitation to pray for him...).

I find this reality to be a mix of excitement and fear.  It’s honoring to have your son want to be like you.  But it’s also frightening. I know my weaknesses and I would hate for him to have to face some of the same struggles I battle regularly.

Surfing in Sandals
There’s a curious story in Matthew 14.  Jesus has been up on the hillside praying during the night while His disciples are traveling to the other side of the lake by boat.  In the middle of the night Jesus comes walking on the water towards them.  Needless to say, the disciples were seized with fear seeing a figure moving across the surface of the water in the middle of a storm.

Jesus tells them to calm down, it’s just Him.  But then Peter calls back, “If it’s really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”  What would possess Peter to say such a thing?

Rob Bell points out in the 8th Nooma film Dust that the goal of a disciple was not just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like the rabbi.  Ray Vander Laan points the same thing out on his website excellent
followtherabbi.com.  If this is true, suddenly you understand why Peter would make such a ridiculous request. If Jesus, Peter’s rabbi, could walk on water, Peter wanted to be just like his rabbi and follow in His footsteps.  So Peter jumps out of the boat when Jesus says “come.”

Being a Disciple in the 21st Century
If you have been “born again” as John 3:3 says, then Jesus calls you to be His disciple.  This means you are to not just know about Jesus, or even know some of the things Jesus knows.  You are called to be like Him!

So what are you doing to be like your rabbi?  Are you getting to know Him better everyday through His Scripture and prayer?  Are you showing compassion like He did? Are you obeying His call to follow Him in every area of your life?

For me, I know I follow Jesus extremely imperfectly.  But if there is to be any hope for my son Salem, then I’ve got to be like Jesus, because right now my 4-year-old’s eyes are on me.  And whether you realize it or not, someone has their eyes on you.  It might not be your son, but it could be a co-worker who is curious about your faith, a neighbor who finds your church attendance a little bit odd, a friend who has spiritual questions, a family member who is still trying to figure out this Jesus thing you’ve aligned yourself with, or simply a friend in your small group.

So are you treading about life leaving your own footprints, or are you following in the footsteps of your rabbi, showing others the path to follow?

adapted from Issue 2 (Winter 2008) of The Connection, the quarterly young adult newsletter of New Covenant Bible Church

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