Copycats

Alvaro angrily stomped into the room. Papá looked up from his computer. "Tell Miguel to quit copying me!" said Alvaro, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's always following me around, and he tries to do everything I do." As Papá closed his laptop, Miguel rushed into the living room. He marched over to his brother and promptly crossed his arms too. "See what I mean?" said Alvaro as Miguel stared up at him."Miguel," said Papá, "give Alvaro a bit of space." Then Papá looked at Alvaro. "Miguel copies you because he wants to be like you."Alvaro frowned. "I don't like copycats.""You don't? Well, the Bible says we should all be copycats." Papá picked up his Bible from the coffee table and opened it. "Here," he said. "Read Ephesians 5:1 out loud for us."Alvaro took the Bible and looked at the verse Papá indicated. "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children," he read."What do imitators do?" Papá asked. Alvaro shrugged. Miguel shrugged too. "They copy," said Papá. "We're supposed to copy God." Papá smiled at the boys. "Miguel loves you, Alvaro, and he shows it by wanting to do the same things you do. That's the same way we show our love for God. Jesus lived a perfect life of love and sacrifice when He came to earth to die for our sins. We can't copy Him perfectly, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is helping us grow to be more like Him, we can imitate Jesus by showing others His love in our actions and attitudes."Alvaro scratched his head. Giggling, Miguel did the same. Then Alvaro gave his brother a quick, playful punch on the shoulder. Miguel punched back. He squealed as Alvaro tackled him, and together they fell to the floor, laughing.Papá laughed too. "Okay, you two. Miguel, no more copying Alvaro right now. Leave him alone for a while. And let's all remember to be imitators of God by trusting Him to help us copy Jesus." "Okay," Miguel said."Okay," Alvaro said with a mischievous grin. "Okay!" Papá chimed in, and they all laughed."–Carol A. deCesare