An Example Worth Following

11.9.2009

1 Co 4:16-17 16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. New American Standard Bible

Unruly. That’s the word that comes to my mind when I consider the Corinthian church. It seems they were like modern churches with everyone doing their own thing. They were factious, not focused; they were fractured, fragile, frail, and faulty. So Paul says to them, “Be imitators of me; follow my lead and do as I do! And for the very reason that you’re so unruly I’ve sent Timothy to help you get your act together!”

Why are churches so divisive? Why are churches so unruly? Perhaps it’s because they are made up of people – broken and fallen – and there is much to learn about the Kingdom of God and much to unlearn of the ways of earth. To do that requires an example worth following; someone who is right with God to say, "Therefore...be imitators of me."

I don’t think I am bold enough to say, “be imitators of me.” Following me might make you feel as if you were following a drunken drunk down the sidewalk – weaving from side to side and starting and stopping erratically. But you know, my calling is to be an example worth following (oh, and yours too if you claim Christ.) It’s a high and necessary standard, and one of which the church in every age has been in short supply.

Father in Heaven,

You call us to follow You and to share You with others – others who are broken and fallen. I pray to be an example that others can follow because in reality, right, wrong or otherwise I am an example to follow. I just pray to be a good one and one that brings honor and glory to Your Kingdom. Set me apart and use me toward that end I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.