“Dear friends, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good” (3 John 1:11, NIV).
Some years ago, my parents travelled abroad, and each brought back items they believed to be of great value. My father had purchased, for only pennies on the dollar, what he believed to be a Rolex watch. My mother had purchased a handbag bearing the name of a famous designer—again for an insanely low price.
Of course, what my parents learned was these luxury items were not genuine. They were cheap imitations. They were saddened by their discoveries, but also learned some valuable lessons about the importance of finding the real thing.
One aspect of the gospel that holds great weight with teenagers today is the importance of imitating Jesus. Teenagers are not looking for cheap imitations of Christ-like behavior or for leaders and ministries that speak one way and live another. Rather, integrity and genuine concern must be hallmarks of any solid youth ministry.
In fact, as leaders it is our calling to teach teenagers how to imitate Jesus, too. We are to follow His lead, His example, His teachings, and in doing so we become little Christs, which is what the word Christian means. Of course, we are not perfect imitations; but our hands, actions and words often can be the very actions of Jesus, who taught us to love one another as He has loved us.
It is a wonderful invitation and a great responsibility to be imitations of Jesus, but when teenagers find this authenticity they are often the first to fall in love with Jesus.
