2022_06_06 Insight Post- Kim Feld

  -   June 6, 2022

This week’s reading- 1 Corinthians 11-12

“And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT

The verse above is how Paul begins chapter 11. It caught my attention in my reading because of the boldness of the statement. In spreading the message of Jesus to the Gentiles, Paul was often speaking with people who had never met Jesus. The New Testament had not been entirely written or compiled, so no book chronicled Jesus’ life yet. The church at Corinth learned about Jesus through Paul’s teaching.

Paul mentions this idea of imitating him or other believers in several different letters. Look at Galatians 4:12; Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 3:7, 9 for other examples. Earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul said, “So I urge you to imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16).

Paul did not believe that he was sinless, so he didn’t imply that they should do and say everything he did. If you read Romans 7, you will see that Paul readily admits he has a sinful nature that wants to live for itself and not in obedience to Christ. But his is giving them a pattern of living to follow, a life completely devoted to Jesus Christ and committed to following Him no matter the cost. Jesus changed Paul’s life dramatically. Paul could confidently urge the young church to follow his example as he followed the example of Jesus.

So, I must ask myself, “Am I living a life that I could freely encourage others to imitate?” As I roll back the mental tape of my mind from the past 24 hours, I see lots of room for improvement. Let’s look at Paul’s words in Philippians 3:

^17 “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. ¹⁸ For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹ He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

Although you might think Paul is talking about unbelievers in this passage, he’s actually talking about people who profess to be followers of Christ but who live a life of self-indulgence. Our “appetite” can include many things, but a couple of questions to ask ourselves are, “What do I spend the most time thinking about? Is there one thing that consumes my thinking?” The answer may not necessarily be a bad thing within itself. Still, it may have become an idol when it distracts us from serving and worshiping Jesus.

I hope you will join me in really considering your life today. Is it one that, if others imitated it, would lead them to a closer relationship with Jesus?