Jesus is Our Hupogrammos

In ancient Greece, a teacher would take a shallow wooden box filled with wax and write in it.  The student would then place his stylus into the grooves of the teacher's writing and carefully trace them. In this way, the student would learn the proper way to write by using the teacher's model.

This box of wax was called the Hupogrammos, which means underwriter.  It was used to teach a student to copy the teacher and become perfected in the way the teacher would write.  The better the student was in following the teacher, the more perfect he would become.

In 1 Peter 2:21  it is written,  "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."  The word 'example' is actually the word "hupogrammos".  Jesus is our underwriter.  He has etched into this world how we are to live our lives. We are to make the actions of our lives match his life.

The thoughts of Jesus are the hupogrammos by which we are to think.  His love for God and for man are the hupogrammos that we are to emulate in our lives.  The very heart of  Christ is our hupogrammos that our hearts should reproduce exactly as his heart.

We are students whose assignment is to learn of Christ.  Our lessons are given to us by the master himself that we might follow in his footsteps and know him intimately.  Every moment in our lives we have Jesus Christ as our hupogrammos to guide us in the way we are to go.  Jesus is our hupogrammos of life.

Photo Credit: Pre-Apple tablet by Jennifer Krauel