“I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16 ESV
Reflection: when others look at you, what do you want them to see and imitate?
We all have someone we imitate. Some might be more of a “free thinker” than others, but from an early childhood we are taught all sorts of norms. What gets us ahead, and what cause some sort of punishment. And through our early years, we look to others who have a perceived existence that we admire somehow. Might be their talent, such as an artist or a gifted speaker. Might be a sports star (wearing their jersey) or movie star. Might be someone who achieved much, by bravery or knowledge. Perhaps wealthy. Or, might even simply be parents, a family member or a close friend. And we find ourselves dreaming about those we admire, even to a point of starting to imitate or mimic some aspects of them. A father might see his young son wanting to dress like and walk like his daddy, which of course is pretty adorable.
But as we age, does this imitation ever go away, or just become more sophisticated?
If you spend a moment thinking about your own life, your own behavior, who are you “looking up to” right now? The expression “keeping up with the Jones’s”, or keeping up with your neighbors or friends, is really no different than the early years, right? Looking at what others have accomplished in their lives, their house and car, what they wear, what food they make, how they speak and even pray, or whatever [you can fill in the blanks here for your situation], an honest reflection here will realize that we all follow, we all more or less imitate someone! And, perhaps the much more scary part of this, is that someone might be imitating us! Looking at our behavior, such as a child, a sibling, a friend, a coworker, a follower of Christ, etc. Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.” 2 Corinthians 3:2 ESV.
In our focus verse today, Paul says to the church in Corinth to imitate him. That is a pretty bold statement, right? Wanting others to imitate, to copy him. Because Paul wasn’t perfect either. Notice an important distinction here. He didn’t say to idolize, to worship, to praise, to pray to, or anything like that. No, he was referring to studying, learning from and taking after his behavior as a follower of Christ. Like students learning from their teacher. Paul later clarified this, saying “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV. Paul, as a more mature disciple of Christ, could therefore say be my students and imitate me to the Corinthians. Paul also wrote to the church in Ephesus “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1 ESV, which is of course the ideal; but clearly more difficult than saying “look at me and learn from me”. Jesus said this in a slightly different way.
““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV.
So, let’s do a bit of “soul searching” today, to think about who we are imitating. A start might be to think through who you are watching perhaps on social media, on the news, in sports, world leaders or organizations, who in the church or Christian speakers, even some friends, etc. By default, those are the ones you are “following”. Maybe there are some you should cut out from your life, and refocus on good influencers, like Paul. Because the message hasn’t changed. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1