{"id":240807,"date":"2025-08-05T14:58:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/?p=240807"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:58:59","slug":"the-power-of-an-example","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/the-power-of-an-example\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of an Example"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geschrieben von Deb del Villar, Direktorin f\u00fcr Kommunikation<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 1 Peter 2:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my sisters felt the calling to adopt. Her family has seven precious additions whom we all love dearly. While each one is an individual, I am amazed at what I witnessed as they grew up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the last one, when you interact with them, you know which family they belong to. Why? They have caught the mannerisms, voice inflections, and habits of the family. They have watched, mimicked, and modeled their lives after their parents. Now, the next generation born to them is doing the same thing. That got me thinking about the power of an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are called to follow in Christ\u2019s footsteps\u2014our ultimate example. If we desire to live on purpose, influencing our grandchildren to the max, this is the way to do it. As the old hymn asks, \u201cDo others see Jesus in you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus left us an example so we might follow in His steps. Let\u2019s look a little closer at what the word example means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make Progress<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When you look at the word, for example, it carries the idea of a flawless copy. It is trying to copy the original to the very best of our ability. I don\u2019t know about you, but that hit me hard. How am I doing at copying the example of Jesus as closely as I can? Certainly, some days are better than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our pastor often says it is not perfection but progress that we are striving for. So, may I ask you to consider how you are doing? Do you have the look of Jesus so others know you belong to Him? Think critically and honestly \u2013 then pray, asking God to help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay Close<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The closer we are to the original, the better our chance of copying correctly. Think back to school days. For me, the closer I was to the board or book, the better my copying became. Let\u2019s stay close to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do this best by reading and studying His word, communing in prayer, and fellowshipping with others in our community of faith. Being up close and personal helps us grow to be more like Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My nieces and nephews look like my sister and her family because of the time they spent in close connection with one another. Stay close and connected to the original example, Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Next, copying is easier and better the more time we spend doing it. Back when I was in school, my handwriting was so bad that I was given extra homework\u2014the dreaded handwriting workbook. Each night I had to practice writing certain letters\u2014full pages of them! I disliked this very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to decades later. I am often complimented on my handwriting. It is neat and very exact. The practice paid off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How often do we get to practice being like Jesus? If you are like me, it is usually times that are not my favorites. It may involve a challenging person or circumstance. This past year has been very challenging for our family with serious health concerns and relational hurt. We have had lots of time to practice. You know, I still don\u2019t like it, but I am confident that God will use it for His glory and our good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schlussfolgerung<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

May decades from now, the great grandchildren we will not see, hear of our example, and say what a beautiful life for God we lived. All for His glory and our family\u2019s good.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May decades from now, the great grandchildren we will not see, hear of our example, and say what a beautiful life for God we lived. All for His glory and our family\u2019s good.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":240810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-generational-living"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Power-of-an-Example.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240811,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240807\/revisions\/240811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}