COPY ME
1 CORINTHIANS 11:1 NKJV
11 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Stop copying me is often the cry heard among siblings. I said it myself quite a few times to my sister as we were growing up. But here, Paul has a completely different thought.
Paul is encouraging the believers in Corinth to follow him. And this thought is actually a continuation of chapter 10. These letters to the churches were not written in chapter and verse.
Paul had been writing to the church regarding their interaction with different groups of people. He wanted them to be conscious of the differences between the Jews, Gentiles, and the church of God. So Paul had encouraged the Corinthians to modify their behavior in order to reach these different groups. And he wanted them to be conscious of living their lives for the glory of God.
However, there is another message in Paul's words to the church. He believed that he was actually a model, an example that they could follow. Paul did not say this from arrogance. Earlier in chapters 1-3, Paul corrected the Corinthian church for becoming too enamored with men. So Paul's instructions were not about following him personally.
Instead, Paul wanted them to follow his ways as he followed the Lord. Or, copy me as I copy the Lord. Paul was not about creating personal followers. But he was all about creating followers of the Lord Jesus. Paul realized that these young believers in Corinth needed a pattern, a model to follow. They had come out of an extremely fleshy pagan culture. Books about becoming a disciple of Christ were not available. There was not a myriad of YouTube sermons about living the Christian life that the church could access. Paul was the first one in preaching the gospel, and these were first-generation Christians. They had no family members who they could follow.
APPLICATION:
Even though our current environment provides many more resources to aid in spiritual growth and development, we can still use live examples to imitate.
We celebrated Father's Day yesterday, and the power of a godly father is immense. Most all of us can look back to someone who was influential in leading us to Christ. And many of us have been blessed with people who served as examples of a growing, maturing Christian.
Joy has shared with me the importance of seeing the example of John and Dodie Osteen during our early days of marriage. Joy did not grow up in a Christian home and did not have a sense of what a godly union looked like. The Osteens were a great example to follow. John and Dodie loved the Lord and loved each other, and that gave Joy hope for her marriage. I was not a good example in our first years together, and a strong outside model was very beneficial.
It's good to have people we can follow, but only as they follow the Lord. Personalities can differ, but godly principles are universally applicable to our lives.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for the people in my life that have served as a quality example of a Christian. Help me be aware of those who are watching me. I want to be a good example for others to copy.