The Pattern
“I want those who know me best to respect me most.” – Mark Batterson
When I was growing up, one of the things my mom loved to do and still does, is sew. We had a craft room in our house and it was the place where my mom made things. In that room, there was a sewing machine. And my mom would take out a pattern, lay it out on a big board, take out the material she was going to use and lay it against the pattern to make whatever it was she wanted to make.
She would pin them together and check to make sure everything was lined up according to the pattern before she made any cuts. Before she ever took the thread and began to sew, she would always check the pattern.
What’s amazing to me is that by using that pattern my mom could make the most beautiful things. For years she would make clothes for my girls and people would always ask, “Where did you get that?” “O, that’s Nana made!”
Today, you can go to the store and you can buy a pattern for just about anything you want to make and if you follow the pattern you can make something beautiful.
How We Shape Lives
But this isn’t just how we MAKE clothes, this is how we SHAPE lives.
This is how we raise kids. This is how we raise grandkids. If we’re honest, this is how we’ve become who we’ve become.
We look for patterns. We look for people to look up to and become like. And when we find a pattern we want to copy we begin to imitate what we see so we can become like the pattern we’ve picked out!
As you can probably imagine this can be incredibly helpful or incredibly destructive. It all depends on the pattern you choose to pattern your life after.
What’s even more interesting is that we define people by the patterns we see.
We’re quick to identify and define people by the way they dress, by the things they like to do, or not do, by the way they talk, by any pattern we can pick up that we value as an identity marker.
Now, sometimes we’ll say things like we shouldn’t judge people based on these kinds of things.
And maybe we shouldn’t.
But today I want to ask a different question: What if we were to leverage the patterns of our lives for the next generation?
What if we were to think about patterns not just as a way to MAKE beautiful things but as a way to SHAPE beautiful lives? As a way to pass on the faith we’ve received and leave a legacy that matters?
Pattern Your Lives After Mine
I think this is exactly what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he was writing this letter to the Philippians.
Listen to what Paul says to the church in Philippians 3.17:
Dear brothers and sisters, PATTERN your lives after mine, and learn from those who FOLLOW our EXAMPLE.
What a bold statement!
Paul writes to this church and he knows most if not all of them by name. He’s taught them, loved them, helped them, done life with them. They know Paul. And they’ve not only heard him teach, but they’ve also seen the way he lives.
So Paul tells them, “Look at the patterns and rhythms of my life and do what you saw me do!”
There is a pattern to my life worth imitating. A routine to my life worth following. Watch me. Do what I do and you will have a relationship with Jesus. You will know Jesus if you follow this pattern. The pattern of my life!
Why? Because knowing Jesus is my highest goal, my greatest ambition. (Philippians 3.8)
I’ve patterned my life in such a way that I can know Jesus. If you pattern your life after the pattern of my life you too will know Jesus!
What would happen if your kids, your grandkids, patterned their lives after you? If they followed your example? If they implemented your routines?
Paul says, “pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.”
Someone once said that your most important contribution to the world may not be something you do but someone you raise. So what kind of pattern are you giving your kids to follow?
Milton’s Story
In the late 1800s – early 1900s there was a man by the name of Milton Snavely. He grew up in Pennsylvania in a very poor family. He only had one sister and she died of Scarlet Fever when he was only 9 years old.
Milton’s mom was of the Mennonite faith and his dad was a struggling entrepreneur. Over and over again his dad would try new ventures, hoping to make a fortune and get rich. But every attempt seemed to fail.
It appeared, early on, that Milton would follow in his father’s footsteps. In fact, for the first 10 years of his career, Milton experienced failure after failure. He would move from city to city, opening up a new company, trying to make his ideas come to life again. Each time, they would fail.
Finally, Milton decided to move back home to Pennsylvania and try one more time. He had apprenticed at a young age with a candy maker in Lancaster, PA. Even though he had tried and tried to start a candy company in different places, it had never worked. But this time he decided to narrow his focus and just make caramel candies. And this time it was a huge success.
Pretty soon he was shipping his candies all around the US and once that started he was on his way. His competitors decided they wanted to buy him out and he sold his caramel company for $1 million. That’s a lot of money today. You can imagine how much money it was back then.
The reason Milton decided to sell his caramel company is because he had decided he wanted to try something new, chocolate.
By the way, Milton Snavely isn’t his full name. That’s just his first and middle name. His full name is Milton Snavely Hershey.
Maybe you’ve heard about the Hershey Chocolate bar?
As you know, his chocolate company was a HUGE success. But that’s not why I tell you the story of Milton Hershey.
Here’s the part of the story not everyone knows.
Not only did he build his chocolate factory in his home of PA, he built a town around it where the workers could live.
Not only did he make his chocolate bars, when WWII hit, he made nutrition bars for the soldiers.
Not only did he keep his factories open during the Great Depression, he started new building projects to create more jobs for more people.
And then there’s this…
Milton and his wife Catherine were never able to have kids. So they decided to take their fortune and use it to change the lives of other kids.
In 1909 they opened a school for orphans. The school not only provided free top-notch education, but it also provided free healthcare, free boarding, and other free resources for children that otherwise probably would not have received an education.
Here’s what they believed, “A family’s income should not determine a child’s outcome.”
Don’t you love that?
When Milton died, he left his entire fortune to the school. About 60 million dollars. Not only that, he made sure that the school gets 30% of the company’s profits. The Hershey Chocolate company, by the way, is worth in excess of 7 billion dollars.
Milton Hershey once said, “It isn’t what you leave your children, but how you leave them.”
I think Milton Hershey knew something about leaving a legacy.
Patterns lead to Legacies
What’s amazing is that his pattern of generosity has touched and changed countless lives. The Milton Hershey School is still providing free education and resources for children today from lower income families. And those children are growing up to lead unbelievable lives!
One of those kids is Wendy MacClinchy who graduated in 1992. Here’s what she said, “Milton Hershey School fundamentally changed the direction of my life. And I can honestly say that it not only changed it but it probably also saved it. I’m still not sure I feel worthy of Hershey’s legacy but I know that my life has been exceptional because of it.”
Today, Wendy travels the world working for the UN, helping to write policy that changes lives all around the world for the better.
It was Hershey’s pattern of generosity that defined his legacy.
And now, people just like Wendy MacClinchy are doing great things all around the world because of his legacy of generosity, kindness and compassion for others.
Here’s what I believe is true:
The pattern of your life shapes the legacy you leave.
How does the pattern of your life shape your legacy?
How does the pattern of your life shape those who are following you?
This week, think about this… What is one pattern of your life you want to pass on to your kids? Do they see you do this? How can you invite them into that pattern so they can follow you as you follow Christ?
Paul would later say this in Philippians 4.9: “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
In other words, follow me as I follow Jesus! Follow me as I pattern my life after the life of Jesus.
What a powerful way to leave a legacy of faith.
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