by Marilyn Ehle
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
He was the youngest son of an African ambassador serving in a European county, Bright eyed, energetic and intelligent, Charles stole the hearts of everyone who clustered around him. If a group of women sat talking about everything from family situations to our nations’ political situations, Charles played with his small cars, quite obviously drinking in our conversation just as avidly as we drank our tea.
One day he, his parents and siblings came to our home for a backyard barbecue and Charles was soon comfortably and skillfully playing a toss-and-catch game with a man 25 years his senior and at least three feet taller. With barely hidden smiles, we watched him perfectly imitate every physical move of his “opponent,” until he could play the game with ease.
Because his parents trained him well even as a pre-schooler in how to behave in adult situations, he was often allowed to delay his bedtime in order to attend many of the less formal social events that occurred frequently in this milieu where cocktail and dinner parties were the norm.
It was at such an event that I spied Charles and smiled. Scores of people dressed in their summer finery gathered on this warm night on the embassy’s lush grassy expanse that sloped down to the shores of the beautiful Rhine River. Before dinner would be served on the white draped tables, waiters clad in sharply pressed black pants and starched shirts circulated with round trays of crystal glasses filled with wine, champagne and juice.
And there amidst the socially astute adults was Charles. He was dressed almost identically to the waiters but with the addition of a perfectly knotted tie. One of the waiters had given him a glass of juice, now held in his small right hand as perfectly as though he had just completed a course in dinner party etiquette. His left hand was tucked into his pants pocket and he strolled—yes, this four-year-old strolled—among the guests, nodding to those he knew, politely answering questions when asked.
How did Charles not only know what to do, but how to be in these circumstances? The answer is really quite simple. He had been immersed, integrated into a lifestyle that he observed was not only accepted but valued. He understood that his parents, and other adults around them in similar occupations, had been called to important positions not just for appearance sake but to make a difference in the world. He watched their lives—their very moves—and learned to imitate them.
The Apostle Paul calls Christ followers to be ambassadors, and as such we need training. Much of this preparation calls for on-site imitation. We watch men and women more mature in order to draw mental maps of how we can relate to the world. We search the Bible for guidelines, learning to follow the examples of men and women who did good jobs while we try to avoid the mistakes of others. We won’t know all the answers but—like Charles—we learn to mix in the crowds around us in classrooms, offices, neighborhoods and simply be with people, drawing them to the Perfect One we imitate.
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