July 20, 2018
Follow my example, as
I follow the example of Christ. 1Cor 11:1
Everyone sets an
example, but is our example worth following?
Are we drawing people closer to Jesus or closer to something else?
Following something you don’t see is very difficult.
Often, Dianna will ask me for directions to some place, and
I will give her directions like a map – ie. 2nd right, follow it
north, take your third left, etc. About
three statements into the explanation, a glazed look will come over her eyes,
and I’ve lost her. She doesn’t do well
with a verbal map. She needs visual
landmarks or a visible map to understand how to get there. Better yet, she does even better when
following someone or having a navigator go with her.
Following Jesus has the same challenges as a verbal
map. God has given us a verbal
instruction manual that is very complete and helpful, but for most of us, it’s
hard to follow. We don’t do well
transferring the instructions of the Gospels into daily behavior patterns. Like trying to remember navigational
directions, it’s easy to make mistakes or take the wrong turn.
That’s one reason Jesus created the Church… to give us other
people traveling the road with us. Often
when we don’t understand what route to take, another more seasoned Christian
will come along and show us how to navigate the journey. Our best method of traveling life is often
through the examples of others ahead of us.
But that is also the danger … because if the example we
follow takes the wrong turn, we likely will be headed the wrong path with
them. Choosing our example is paramount
to successfully navigating life well.
Paul figured that out as he went around starting
churches. After spending time in an
area, he would bring people to Christ and grow them in faith, and then select
leaders worthy of following. These
leaders needed to be excellent examples for the church (and community) to
follow. But who would they follow? Paul told them: follow me as I follow
Christ. Paul was gifted with a special
direct relationship with Jesus, and the closer he drew to Jesus, the better
path others could follow. Oh HOW
IMPORTANT it is to have an example worth following.
You are both a leader & and follower. Someone in this life is watching your example
and learning from it. And there is
someone (probably many) whose example you are following. Remember two things:
1.
The examples you follow NEED to be getting
closer to Jesus for them to be worthy of following.
2.
You also NEED to be getting closer to Jesus for
those who are following your example.
Take a personal inventory of your life regularly. Who are you following? Who is following you? Is your example worthy following? Because the eternities of you and everyone in
your life is at stake!
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