Tracing Jesus
by Emma Strelan
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).
To be honest, I read the text for today and thought, ‘I’m going to skip the bits about suffering; it won’t make for a very good devotional topic. Plus, how can I write about a topic I don’t have much experience with?’ But I kept getting drawn back to verses 20 and 21, especially the bit about Jesus leaving an example for us.
The Greek word here for ‘example’ (hypogrammos) refers to a writing or drawing that someone places under a sheet of paper and traces over.
For those of us not talented at drawing, there’s a significant difference between trying to copy an illustration just by looking at it and tracing directly over it. Tracing it, you still might not get a perfect result, but it’ll look much closer to the original. It’s also a lot easier to see when you’re not following the design because your pencil line will clearly veer off from the drawing underneath.
So, to what extent is our life really supposed to trace Jesus’? Jesus’ suffering was awfully brutal, and many people of faith, myself included, have often wondered, ‘If I take my life as a Christian seriously, should I try to go and get myself crucified too?’
But I think the purpose of this passage seems to be an encouragement to endure suffering with the proper spirit. I notice as Christians, when we hear a friend is about to go into a tough situation that’s likely to hurt in some way (physically or otherwise), we tell them that we’ll be praying for their safety. We naturally want to take the path of least resistance, the least suffering. But that’s not what Jesus did.
I realise as I grow older that there are many things worth suffering for – and Jesus understood this best of all. I hope that I get more opportunities to test my attitude towards suffering because I know that the most personal growth often happens in these times.
If I look to Christ as my example, it’s not his life in general that I should follow but his attitude. It’s the patience he demonstrated amid unjustifiable sufferings I want my pencil to trace.
Lord, I want my whole approach and attitude to life to trace yours. Thank you for the ultimate example of enduring suffering you provided in Christ. Because I cannot live up to that example, help me endure the suffering I do experience with a strong and determined heart. Amen.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
