Although our house is small, it has lots of windows. That’s mostly because of 12 across the back of the house, both downstairs and upstairs. Though I have no knowledge of decorating or styling a home, God is a pro at beautifying his world, and lots of windows lets us hitch onto what he’s done by inviting the outdoors in. But it’s a big job to keep 45 windows clean.

I’m grateful for Louisa, our chief window-washer in recent years, and now she’s got a mini-apprentice: little Emerald Louisa, someone else I’m very thankful for.

The other day I watched from a distance as Louisa patiently tutored her trainee, showing her how to use a squeegee and rag. Emerald watched her teacher once and immediately got down on the polishing part. As she wiped the glass, she’d occasionally glance back at her teacher to see if she was watching…. and approving. Once in a while she’d stop to pat her pudgy hands together in self-applause. She was proud of successfully imitating her Auntie Weezi.

Children are always watching, and much of their learning is accomplished through imitating. That’s why it’s critical to measure everything we do (and say) against a high standard. When babies comes along, most adults work overtime to clean up their examples, which ends up being good for both groups.

The question is, where do we find the right standard? Is there a way to appropriately measure what’s acceptable and what isn’t?

When my siblings and I were growing up, Mom steadily promoted the Bible as the Gold Standard of behavior. (Dad agreed, though was less “preachy” about it.) Mom would say, “The Bible is a measuring rod for life. Live by its principles and you’ll always do the right thing.”

It was a mouthful, especially that part about “living by its principles,” but her idea was sound, offering a gauge by which we could measure behavior, especially when we became parents modeling values in front of little ones.

As difficult as it might seem, God wants us to model our lives after the example of the “star” of the Bible, Jesus. It isn’t so we can win his approval but is for two other lofty purposes: (1) to lead satisfying, purposeful lives, and (2) to represent him well as his followers. We know we can’t be clones of Jesus, since he was sinless and we aren’t. But there are parts of his life we can imitate.

Can we imitate him the same way Emerald imitated Louisa? Could it possibly be that simple?

Tomorrow we’ll find out.

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)