who are you imitating?

Here's moment of honesty for you: I do not get excited at the prospect of reading most Christian books.  I don't care if it was written by a famous author, or if everyone is reading it.  I just don't get too thrilled about it.  I generally read my Bible, my textbooks, and fiction novels.  I only enjoy two of those three.  But I am excited about a book I recently picked up, because it is right up my alley.  It is about something that I am already trying to accomplish.  It's called, Legacy Path, and it's about raising your kids to follow God by following the example you set for them.

It is my goal that Jakob could be just like me and be incredibly close to being like Jesus.  I want to live a life that is pleasing to God.  I want to be constantly moving in His direction, growing more and more like Him as the days go by.  Why?  Well, I used to want to live out my Christian life to impress my parents and people at church.  As I grew, my priorities began shifting.  I started to seek out God for my own good.  I wanted to please God, and when I felt I that I was accomplishing that, it gave me a sense of worth. But lately, my priorities have shifted again.  I still want to please God.  That's still my primary motivation.  It is a desire in my own heart, and I do feel a sense of worth when I feel like I'm accomplishing that, but it is no longer my only motivation.  I also want to live a life pleasing to God, so that Jakob will learn from me how that's done.

As Jakob grows and wrestles with his faith and how to live a proper life, I want to be able to repeatedly give him the same advice.  No matter where he's at, I want to be able to listen to his questions, look him in the eye, and say, "Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ."  Do I think I can say that right now?  Not in every area, no.  Is it feasible to get there?  I think so.  Paul got there.  That isn't a quote original to me.  It's actually a direct quote of 1 Corinthians 11:1.

So here's my question to you: if your kids imitate you, are they also imitating Christ?  If not, who are you teaching them to imitate?