Did I mention that I’m a baseball guy? I don’t force my kids to play, but on occasion, they want to. A couple of nights ago, I was tossing a tennis ball onto the roof, watching it roll down and catching it cleanly in my glove. I’ve done this a million times before, and it feels like second nature. My seven-year-old daughter ran over with a smile and asked, “Can I do that too?”
I brought her a glove and a tennis ball, and she joined me. Getting the ball onto the roof was a light toss for me. It required a heave for her, but most of her throws made it on the roof. As the ball rolled down, she'd reached out her glove and miss the catch. She missed, and missed, and missed… every single time, she missed.
She. Did. Not. Care.
Why not? She was with her daddy, doing what her daddy loved to do.
One of the core elements of discipleship is simply doing what the teacher does. That’s what we do when we follow Jesus. That’s what Paul exhorted us to do as we walk through this life.
I realized that night that I have a lot to learn about discipleship from my kids. While I’m consumed with whether I get it right, say the right words, do enough, or make everybody else happy, my daughter, with a smile on her face, missed every ball. And yet, she was doing it exactly right. She was imitating her daddy.
May we all do that, too. Every day.
*Heavenly Father, you love me deeply. I am sorry for equating discipleship with activity and productivity. I see through my daughter that you simply desire an intimate relationship with me. May what I do truly be driven by love for you. Amen.”
Go Deeper — If you feel inadequate or are wondering if you are doing this witnessing thing right, confess that to Daddy. Then simply imitate our Lord and let the rest happen in due time, his time.
Photo Credit: Derek Thomson