"Mom, why do we do devotions every day?" asked Bo as she picked up a book with colorful illustrations of birds and flowers. "It seems like we get enough Bible teaching by going to church every week." As she spoke, she thumbed through the book she was holding. She studied a picture of a beautiful red cardinal. "I'd sure like this picture for my bird project," Bo said. "Can I cut it out?"
"That would ruin the book. Why don't you trace it?" suggested Mom.
"Good idea." Bo jumped up and found some tracing paper.
Mom watched as Bo worked. "Why do you put the paper right on top of the picture?" Mom asked.
"It's tracing paper," replied Bo, surprised at her mother's question. "I put it on top of the picture so I can see the lines through the paper and trace them."
"But you just saw the picture a minute ago," said Mom. "Why not put the paper to the side and look back at the picture every now and then?"
"Mom! I'm tracing it, not copying it," said Bo. "When you trace, the paper has to touch the picture." She looked at her mother suspiciously.
Mom nodded. "You're right. I'm thinking of your question about having devotions every day. The Bible says our lives should look like that of Jesus--we should follow in His steps and love others the way He does."
"And you're comparing that to tracing a picture?" asked Bo.
"Yes, because in order for you to trace that bird, your tracing paper needs to be right there on the picture, and in order for us to be like Jesus, we need to know what He's like. The Bible is His story--it shows us who He is. As we read and study the Bible--at church and on our own--we learn more about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit helps us apply what we learn to our lives. It's one of the ways He shapes us to be more like Jesus."
"You mean, it's like He's tracing us over Jesus?" Bo lifted the tracing paper and looked at it, then put it back on the picture. "Okay," she said as she traced more lines. "As soon as I'm done with this, let's do our family devotions!"
-Hazel W. Marett
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you live the way Jesus lived? He lived a perfect life that none of us ever could, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can follow in His steps. One way to do that is to spend time reading the Bible so you can learn more about Jesus. It’s important to read and study God’s Word with other people at church, but it’s also good to do it on your own. Learn what Jesus did and said, and then follow in His steps.
TODAY'S KEY VERSE: 1 John 2:6 (KJV)
The one who says he belongs to Christ should live the same kind of life Christ lived. (NLV)