Like Paul

03.19.13

1 Corinthians 4.16 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (ESV)

There are two appointments I keep each week: one is coffee with a friend on Monday and the other with a group of men on Thursday. At each appointment is the opportunity to hear and be heard. The subject matter is very varied but usually we get around to spiritual things.

Yesterday while having coffee, my friend said (as we were discussing men in the church) that most men will tell you they like Jesus, but don’t necessarily want to be like Jesus. I thought that was pretty telling. I thought that explained a lot. I think that sums up how many feel about Christ and why so many are so afraid to take the steps of their relationship with Christ to the next level: they fear being like Christ – and what would happen to them if they were.

Jesus was truly radical. Jesus was truly “out of the box”. Jesus said and did things that made people uncomfortable. And worst of all (in our assessment, not His) Jesus was completely sold out to God. We fear that probably more than anything else. Being sold out to God is like being the one black button in a sea of white.

Paul’s difficulties with the Galatians and the Corinthians boiled down to the same thing: be like me. Paul didn’t necessarily care if people liked him, he had a message for them that was completely beyond whether anyone liked him or not. But more than anything, Paul wanted everyone to be like him (see Acts 26.29). Paul knew who he was, what he was, and what he had; and he knew that the salvation of every person on earth depended on their having it too: Paul had an intimate relationship with the Living God as his Friend. And Paul was willing to give everything he had to get the most he could from God, and be God’s friend.

And so Paul said things like: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me…” or “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus…” He wasn’t being arrogant; he knew who he was and what he had. Paul wanted everyone to know and have that too.

Jesus Himself urged people to be like Him in relationship to God. And that is where the rub comes from for most: they fear what will happen to them if they become like Christ, or even if they become like a nutcase like Paul. The fear is what will happen to them if they do. Jesus was crucified and Paul bounced around for a while and then wound up in prison, an enemy of the state. Yes, I want to like Christ but I don’t necessarily want to be like Christ.

Unless, I fully understand what is expected of me if I accept Him. My Americanism dies. My life is fueled by my love for God and for mankind. I begin to see what is lost in worldliness and what is gained in godliness. I begin to favor what lies ahead and stop being so enamored with what lies around.

O God! Help me to understand! Amen.