1 Peter 2:21-22

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

Our daughter’s dance recital is coming up rather quickly. She and the rest of the girls in her class have been working hard to learn the routine. The jazz dance, however, needed a little work. The teacher knew they needed to practice more often outside of class. They needed to see the steps, twirls, and moves to learn them better. In order to help with that, she recorded a video of herself doing the dance! That way all the dancers could watch her example and do what she did.

Peter tells us about an example to follow for our whole life, both how we live and how we speak. And the example? It’s the life of Jesus. The perfect, spotless life of Jesus is our example to follow.

While that may sound intimidating or unachievable, think about this: Jesus lived that way first and foremost to save you. That’s a done deal. We don’t have to or need to imitate Jesus to earn anything from God. We don’t do it to prove ourselves to him. We also don’t imitate Jesus because “if you don’t the big guy in the sky is going to get you.”

We imitate Jesus because he loves and saved us. We imitate him because of his selfless sacrifice to save us. We imitate him because he calls us to do just that. We are his followers. Our lives are hidden and wrapped up in his. There is no greater life to imitate as an example than the life that freed from sin.

What will that look like for you today? This week? In what ways can you speak with a truthful and honest voice? In what ways can you keep your heart and life from sin and lived for Jesus? In what ways can you imitate your gracious, amazing Savior this week?