I recently overheard my kids arguing because one of them “copycatted” the other during an art project. It’s funny how our natural instinct is to be original and not have our ideas stolen. We want to be the special person who came up with the idea. We also get upset when others take credit for our work.

In these ways we are so unlike, yet so similar to, Jesus.

We’re unlike Jesus in that instead of wanting us to find our own way and our own ideas; He wants us to be copy cats of Him. He wants us take His original, unique love for others and copy it. He desires for us to practice forgiveness with others, to sacrifice our wants to meet their needs, and to leave their judgment up to the Father.

Yet we’re similar to Jesus in that He doesn’t want others to take credit for His work either. As we are blessed with peace and provision, He doesn’t want us to credit chance, fortune, or luck. He wants us to credit Him as the giver of all good things. When we are able to help others, He doesn’t want us to take the credit and sound our own horn. He wants us to give Him the credit for not only providing us with something to give, but also with the desire in our heart to do so.

As you go through your day, ask yourself, “Am I doing a good job of copying Jesus today, or could I do better at showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?” And then do a mini-review at the end of the day asking yourself,”What has God done for me today? How did God help me to help others today? Did I give Him the credit?”

Since we’re created in God’s image and we have a sense of humor, I’m sure God does too. I think it would be fun to stand before Jesus in heaven and have him accuse us, with a gleam in His eye and a smile twitching at His lips, of being a copy-cat.