In His Likeness

The purpose of all of God’s commandments is to make us like Jesus Christ. No other commandment may do that quite as effectively as the command to "multiply and replenish the earth". In our role as parents we enter a partnership with God in raising His children and we learn in a very real, and sometimes grueling, way how to "love one another as [He] has loved [us]". 

Being a parent is complicated. I feel like I am always questioning myself. "Should I be feeding Steven on a schedule?" "Should I let Jane eat this?" "Should I try harder to hang on to her nap?" It is good to take time to question and reflect on what I am doing as a parent and the effect it is having on my children. But the most important question I could ask, and the one I should be asking every day is this: "Am I parenting in a way that is making me more like the Savior?"

I took art classes all through high school. I am a very amateur artist. I never created a masterpiece. But I was able to produce a few paintings that I’m not totally embarrassed to display. The secret is that I had a reference. I do not have the ability or the vision to create something new, so my goal was to make my paintings look exactly like something else-- usually a photograph. I would always have my reference right in front of me and I would constantly compare my painting to the reference, making sure I had the angles and colors and shadows correct. I was always asking myself, “Am I mixing my paint in the right way to make it look like the reference? Do I have the right brush to make it look like the reference?” Usually I didn't, but I had an excellent teacher who would help me compare the painting to the photograph to figure out how it was off and how I could fix it. Eventually, I had something I was pleased with.

If you hold the photograph and my painting side by side, it is obvious that one is a very amateur version of the other, but it is also clear that it is in its likeness. One day I will stand side by side with the Savior at the judgement day. I hope that, although I am a very imperfect version, it will be clear that I have lived my life is His likeness. I must keep him always in my mind and constantly compare my life to Him, making sure I am serving, loving and teaching as He would. The Holy Ghost is a wonderful teacher who will help me see how I am off and how I can change my life to be like Christ. I must keep asking myself "Am I living in a way that I look, act, and feel more like my reference, my Savior?” As I do so, I hope, as it says in 1 John 3, "when he shall appear, [I] shall be like Him".