Birthday Reflections

My son Joshua is 19 months old.  For Christmas his favorite toys, other than his books and stuffed Curious George, were anything daddy related.  Joshua got a toolbox and set of tools and he loves them.  He has been fascinated with screwdrivers and says "Daddy" anytime he sees them and tries to twist screws he finds.  He also has been enamored with my guitar and he got a little guitar his size for Christmas, too.

Anything I do he tries to do, too.  He likes my shirts, my shoes, my screwdrivers, my Bible... anything of mine.

Today is my 32nd birthday and a chance to be reflective.  A chance to take stock in my life and my fathering.

Before Christmas two questions burned in me.  Two questions came into my mind and have stayed there:

Would my son want to be like me and would I want him to?

At 19 months my son thinks I'm all that.  I remember thinking my dad was the biggest, strongest, smartest guy, too.  But will my son want to be like me when he's a man?  Will my life look to him as something to be copied?  Will my son see my life as something to aspire to or to avoid?

Would I want my son to be like me?  Am I living a life that I would want my son to strive toward?  Is my character one that I want to see duplicated in this world?  I can't control the answer to the first question as much as I can control this one.  Having children has increased my desire to live a life worth xeroxing.

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

Is that something I could say to my son and daughters?  Will my example blaze a trail toward Christlikeness for my kids or toward selfishness? 

On my birthday I ask for one gift: would you pray that God conform me to the image of Christ so that I would be worthy of my son's adoring and copying today?