Serious About Copycat!

Would you ever tell someone to
watch your lifestyle and imitate
all that you do?

Think about it:
Your words.
What you watch on TV.
How you spend your money.
Your reactions.
How you vote.
What you choose to fight for.
Your reading material.
What you post on social media.
Every part of your life . . .
being imitated by others!

That’s exactly what the apostle Paul
told the Corinthians to do.

Check it out:
“I urge you to imitate me”
(1 Corinthians 4:16 NIV).

I URGE you?
Isn’t this a bit arrogant?
Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God!
Paul tells us to imitate him.

Do you get it?
Paul lived in such union with God
that imitating Paul would be like imitating God.

Oh. My. Goodness.

As sold-out disciples—
people who are living in radical obedience
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ—
shouldn’t we be able to say the same thing?

What if we could say this to our teens:
“Hey, I know life is tough. I realize you’re trying
to follow Christ . . . that you don’t understand
all the Bible is telling you . . . you’re still navigating
your way through Christianity and you’re wobbling.
So to make it easier, just copy me. Can you do that?
I’ll live the life of Christ right in front of you, OK?
Though you don’t understand all of Christianity yet,
just keep watching me and imitate everything I say and do,
because I’m imitating God. So as you copy me, you’ll actually
be copying God Himself.”

Oh. My. Goodness.

THAT’s what Paul was saying.
Why aren’t we saying the same thing?
Is it because we’re not living in radical obedience to Christ?

I don’t know about you . . .
but I want to be a godly role model.

I want to be like Christ.
So . . . in His strength . . . I’m not going to be “one more Christian”
who falls.
In His strength . . . I’m not going to be “one more Christian”
who causes others to question their faith.

When I’m on vacation—and no one knows who I am
or what I do—I’m not going to release words from my mouth
that I normally wouldn’t.

I’m not going to order a drink when no one’s watching.
I’m not going to pick up a cigarette and take a few puffs.
I’m not going to enter a place of entertainment that I don’t
usually frequent.

Because if I did, I’d be saying, “Imitate me when I’m in public and
when I’m at my best. But when I’m alone, don’t watch.”

What would happen if we could be parents, teachers, pastors,
role models, disciples who can say with ease,
“I URGE you to imitate me”?

All the time.

Will you join me in this goal?