Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. [Ephesians 5:1-2a (NLT)]
And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. [John 13:14-15 (NLT)]
Several “Nancy” comics written and drawn by Guy Gilchrist have inspired my writing. Curious about the cartoonist, I was not surprised to learn that he is a Christian; that was not always true. As a boy, he was poor, lonely, abused, and searching for someone and something in which to believe. Missing a dad, he found a father figure in an unlikely place—television—and in a remarkable person—a radio, television and movie star by the name of Roy Rogers. When the young cartoonist was unsure how to behave, he’d look to the singing cowboy and ask himself, “What would Roy do?” He knew his cowboy hero always took the right course of action. Although Rogers was publicly vocal about his faith, Gilchrist didn’t know his hero was a Christ follower until many years later.
Since there was no difference between Rogers’ television persona and the man himself, Gilchrist chose an excellent role model in this man of integrity. Kind and honest, Rogers was a devout Christian who stood for decency, truth, and justice. Unaware of Roger’s Christian faith, the boy didn’t know that the entertainer had his own model for behavior: Jesus. While Gilchrist asked, “What would Roy do?” the star probably asked, “What would Jesus do?”
Emulating Roy’s example made Gilchrist a good person. But, following the “Roy Rogers’ Rider’s Club Rules” by studying hard, obeying his parents, protecting the weak, and being kind, courteous, brave, and neat didn’t make him a Christian. Gilchrist’s commitment to Christ didn’t happen until the cartoonist realized how much he needed Jesus shortly after his divorce.
Nevertheless, the father figure Guy Gilchrist found in Roy Rogers illustrates how each of us can influence the lives of others and have a profound effect on them. Granted, we’re not Hollywood stars. We don’t ride a golden palomino named Trigger or have a German shepherd answering to the name of Bullet. All the same, we have a responsibility to be good role models to all who know or even observe us—and, like Rogers and his wife Dale Evans, we must be open to sharing the gospel whenever possible.
Do we live by asking ourselves what Jesus would do? Do we live in such a way that we would want young people to model their behavior after ours? Would we want them to respond to disappointment, resolve problems, settle conflicts, react to insult or injury, deal with loss, and treat both pleasant and unpleasant people the way we do? Would we want them to ask themselves what we would do? Then, would we want them to do it?
A good example is far better than a good precept. [D.L. Moody]
Devotions of the Heart 