Imitations Welcome

 

Scripture

Philippians 3:17-4:1

¹⁷Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. ¹⁹Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

¹Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.  (NRSV)

 

Devotion

 Paul's statement in Phiippians3:17 always take me aback at first.  From my perspective, it takes a whole lot of hubris to go around  flat out telling large groups of people to imitate them? Who does that?!

Within the context of his other writings, though, Paul's words make sense.  Paul's epistles repeatedly encourage new believers to imitate him and the other early apostles they've met, because those people have had the chance to meet and imitate Jesus Christ himself.  Those who have seen and experienced Jesus in the flesh and then committed their lives to spreading the Gospel are by no means perfect.  Still, if they are using Jesus as their example for how to live and keeping their minds set on heavenly things, then their actions will certainly be more in line with what God desires than the actions of friends, neighbors, and family members whose minds are still set on earthly things.  The Philippians have spent personal time with Paul and seen how he acts.  Therefore, modeling themselves after him is one of their best shots to be more like Jesus.  

 We today have not had the pleasure of meeting Peter, Paul, or the other apostles face to face.  That doesn't mean, though, that we can't still imitate Jesus.  The lifestyle the apostles taught to others has been passed through generations of believers.  The details of how we live and move in the world have changed over the years (just imagine Paul with access to cell phones and social media), but the basics of who we are called to be and how we are supposed to behave remain the same. And one thing that hasn't changed one of the most effective methods for learning how to follow Jesus's way is still by observing and imitating other people of faith.

Hopefully, we all have people in our lives whose Christian witness we try to imitate.  I, for instance, try to imitate:

• the quiet generosity of my great-grandmother;
  
• the constant love and support shown by grandmothers;
• the tangible work on behalf of others modeled by my parents and grandfather;
  
• the mixture of joy, sorrow, compassion, and righteous indignation that my former pastors' have brought into the pulpit.
• the ability to sit with people in the valley of despair that some of my friends, colleagues, and congregants have.
•  the deep and abiding commitment to social justice and systemic change that I see in my closest friends.
  

These are but a few of the people whose faith serve as models for who I would like to be.  They teach me what it means to live out the Gospel that I so deeply love to read and hear.  And while none of these people are perfect, I know that when I try to imitate some of their more Christ-like behaviors, then I grow better at imitating Christ himself.  I, in turn, pray that others may find something worthy and Christ-like to imitate in me so that

Today, I encourage you to spend a moment about the people the people whose words and actions have shown you what it means to follow Christ and do God's will.  Whether they are still among the living or have joined the ranks of the saint in heaven, give thanks for those role models of faith!  And ask yourself how you can imitate their behavior in ways that pass the lessons they taught you about being a Christ-follower to others.

Above all, let us not forget that we imitate our Christian role models and encourage others to imitate us not because we are perfect.  Not even because we expect to get it right most of the time.  But because we are part of an unbroken line of believers who are doing our best to imitate Jesus himself.  And the more help each other try to be like Jesus, the closer we grow to Christ.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for the people who have shown me what it means to follow you.  May my imitations of their faithful witness and make me a role model for others, so that day by day, we may all grow to be more like you.