My Way Of Life In Christ Jesus

We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

1 Corinthians 4:10-17

We want people to follow us. But we need to make sure we are setting good examples for Jesus Christ.

You may think Paul sounded boastful when he tells others to follow his example. But a closer look at Paul’s words shows why he wrote so confidently. He could ask people to imitate him because he imitated Christ, the greatest Servant of all.

The persecution he endured and the position he held in the church all happened because Paul followed Jesus. When he mentioned that even if the Corinthians have 10,000 teachers he would still be their father in the faith. He was their father in the faith. He was acknowledging that Jesus was the only reason people could trust his teaching.

If we want people to imitate us, we must first imitate our Lord. If we have any reason for people to follow our example – if we have any courage to point others to the Savior – it is because of Him, not us.

Others should imitate us only as far as we imitate Christ.

Our Daily Bread – September 29, 2013