As a child, my heroes wore black and gold. With names like Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, my Boston Bruins spurred me on to greatness on the ice. Kind of . . .
There were a few problems that deterred my career with the Bruins. First of all, Bobby Orr never wore figure skates like me. I do remember an old pair of floppy-ankled hockey skates that I wore briefly – too large or not! When my best friend showed up with a brand new pair of Bobby Orr gold-and-black skates, I met the ninth commandment head-on! My hockey stick was a splintered hand-me-down from a nearby prep school. No red light flashed or horn sounded as my goals sputtered between two logs set up on the icey pond (OK, a large swamp) behind my house in Hudson, MA.
Little deterred my love for hockey. Ice hockey. Street hockey. Floor hockey. Only a brief warm-weather fling with baseball made me dream momentarily about Carl Yastrzemski, Rico Petrocelli and Carlton Fisk.
On May 10, 1970, I remember listening intently to the fourth game of the Stanley Cup finals. The hour was late and this budding hockey star received bad news — my mother said it was time to go to bed. And with that fateful edict, I missed it! The most famous goal in hockey. The leap. My hero, Bobby Orr, flying through the air after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think shortly after that fateful night I started dreaming about playing the accordion like Myron Floren. Go figure!
Who did you imitate as a child? Superman? Your dad? A ball player? A friend at school?
In Ephesians 5:1 Paul urges us to “be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Ever see a little boy try to walk like his dad? That’s what God desires from us.
He wants us to walk in love.
A wise scribe quizzed Jesus one time. “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28)
Jesus answer, “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (vss. 29-30) I must imitate God with every fiber of my being!
And unlike my brief hockey career, when I imitate Christ I get to play on the team. Jesus continued his answer to the scribe — “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (vs. 31)
I’ll admit, I have a Boston Bruins jersey in my closet and proudly wear it. My accordion sits in the living room and occasionally gets played. Come over some time and I’ll even play you my Myron Floren LP! But today my skating skills are rusty and I play a few more clunkers on the accordion. So now my prayer is that with each passing day I imitate my Savior more and more.
How about you?