Hebrews 12:2 | looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Growing up as children, most of us had one person or another in our lives that we wanted to be like, to emulate. Perhaps that was a parent, sibling or other relative or maybe it was a teacher or pastor. These people had a big influence in our lives because of the way that they lived theirs. If you’ve ever had a role model in your life, you know that the way to become like the person you look up to is to spend time with them as often as possible, carefully watching and examining their words, attitudes and actions in different situations. As Dwight L. Moody remarked, ““A good example is far better than a good precept.”

Growing up as Christ followers isn’t any different. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that the person we should look to, to emulate, is Jesus. Why? Because He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the only one who lived the perfect Christian life and He is our ultimate role model.

If we want to be like Jesus, we must be willing to spend time with Jesus. We do this by coming into His presence through the reading of His Word and through meaningful prayer that allows us not only to speak to Jesus but requires us to listen so He can speak back. We call this time spent with Jesus our “quiet time.” It is a time for us to speak to and hear from Jesus in a way that will allow Him to transform our lives.