While in the Ukraine some time ago, I came across a homeless man in the metro, one of the few people I had seen in over a week who was actually smiling. His hands were charcoal covered, and a mass of papers was on the ground near him. I stopped to watch as he finished up a rough sketch of what looked to be one of the cathedrals in Kiev. When he noticed me there, he offered to draw a picture of me for a couple hryvnia – just a few dimes in US dollars.


I sat and posed for him, and as he worked his smile grew wide. I couldn’t wait to see my likeness captured with unparalleled excellence. But when he finished and handed me the smeared paper,
I saw a cartoonish face that looked nothing like me at all!


As Christians, many of us are painting portraits of Jesus with our lives, and they are portraits that look nothing like Him. We are called to be imitators of Christ, to structure our lives so that we reflect His image well. Remember: the world will come to know Jesus from the reflection of Him that they see in us.