Learning Letters and Gospel Sanctification

My son is learning to write his letters.  Some he has mastered better than others and some are simply unrecognizable. 

He has a little book that we use as a guide (also a program on his LeapFrog has been helping).  This little book has a letter that he observes, then he traces it, and then to the right he tries it on his own. 

I realize that my son’s letter writing skills are a picture of sanctification.  Christ is the guide (the letter in its correct and perfect form).  What my son does in freehand is his attempt to copy the guide.  My life is a reflection of that.  As I fix my eyes upon Christ, his character and his person, my life sometimes looks like Isaiah’s letter “f” or “m”.  Still imperfect but looking more like the guide.  And sometimes there is a ton of work that still needs to be done, like Isaiah’s letter “k” or “g”.

But there is another thing to learn from this.  Check out Isaiah’s letter “R” when he isn’t focusing on his guide:

 

Notice the difference?  That’s what happens in my life when I try to live in holiness apart from my model.  Of course in reality Jesus is much more than simply a guide; He wraps His life around my little hands’ pursuit of holiness. 

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For this idea I’m indebted to Stuart Scott in his book The Exemplary Husband: A Biblical Perspective.