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“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 11:1

I consider myself a passionate person. I pour out my heart and soul into something I believe in. In my early adult years, I found solace in music. The world stopped when I played music with my band. I followed different musicians, particularly drummers, and patterned my playing to some of them. I listened to them long enough that I somehow knew how they thought musically.

But when Christ found me over a decade ago, He caught my heart. Like the curious, passionate person that I am, I studied His life. I felt like Peter, who was ashamed to be in the presence of Jesus when the Lord caused him to have a miraculous catch of fish after a whole night of going zero. I compared my life with Jesus’ and I saw how huge the gap was—and still is. But I decided to pursue Him and be like Him.

Paul did the same thing. A dedicated, passion-driven man himself, Paul relentlessly pursued Christians, thinking that he was serving God. But little did he know that he was actually working against Him. So, Jesus encountered Paul on the road to Damascus and blinded him for three days—to symbolically show how spiritually blinded he was. Paul sightlessly adhered to the traditions of Judaism, only to realize his efforts were pointless. He was an upcoming megastar Rabbi trained by the Hall of Famer Gamaliel. But when he met Jesus, his life changed radically—so did his priorities.

In this part of 1 Corinthians, Paul is urging the believers in the city of Corinth to follow his example as he is following Christ’s. In the previous passage, Paul encouraged his readers to do everything for God’s glory, including setting aside one’s liberty to keep “weaker” believers from tripping up. He tried to please everyone in the sense that he did not seek his own advantage to give unbelievers the chance to hear the gospel and be saved.

Just like Jesus, Paul rescinded some of his rights to avoid creating a stumbling block and allow people to see Christ through him. He even denied receiving monetary support from the Corinthians even when he should have. Paul’s lifestyle, work ethic, compassion, and desire to glorify God are worth imitating. An accomplished man in his own right, Paul considered all of his achievements garbage. Ultimately, he gave up his life to defend the Christian faith.

Jesus is the only perfect Person who is worthy to be imitated. To be like Him is our life’s goal. The whole point of being saved and continuing to have the breath of life is to follow His example. His life is clearly and sufficiently documented in the Bible. All we have to do is discipline ourselves and take the time to know Him by reading His Word. As we read and realize who Jesus is, the Holy Spirit will pattern our hearts before Him. His work of sanctification ensures we become more like Jesus today than we were yesterday.

Are you imitating Christ?

Pursue the Saviour today!