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

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.  (NIV)

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There is a huge gap between saying, “Do as I say,” and “Do as I do.”

There is a big gap between saying, “Imitate me,” and “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”

The differences are subtle. For example, my father coached our church’s women’s softball team when I was a lad. This team performed admirably. They listened to his instructions and played at a high level. 

Dad also played on the men’s softball team. On one particular evening, he misplayed a ball. He made a mistake he had worked hard to keep his team from making. Those women had a good time asking, “Is that how we’re supposed to do it?”

The women’s team gave Dad a trophy at the end of the season. The nameplate contained this famous quote: “Do as I say, not as I do.”

The Apostle Paul did not have a completed New Testament to share with the new believers in the churches he started. He had a lot to teach. Thankfully, he wrote lots of letters like this one to the church in Corinth. We now have the benefit of reading how God used him to instruct others, so we know how to think and respond to similar issues today. 

Paul taught in person, wrote letters in his absence, and provided a profound example for his friends to follow. Notice how he states The Big Idea here:

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Paul did not say, “Do as I do.”

He did not say, “Do as I say.”

He did not say, “Imitate me.”

He said, “you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”

Paul wasn’t perfect. The Book of Acts and his own letters to the churches tell of his mistakes, regrets, and challenges. He would not want the Corinthians, or us,  to imitate those. 

Paul said, “imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” In other words, imitate me when and how I imitate Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate authority. 

This is an important distinction. People who attend John Maxwell’s training events often leave and follow his example in what they say and how they say it. They tell his jokes. They teach his points. This is likewise true for those who attend other events with other speakers. 

I spend most of my working days in close proximity to a seminary, a graduate school for ministry students. It’s pretty easy to tell who the key influencers are for students who become preachers and pastors. How they preach and how they lead are often copied from their spiritual role models.

This is not unusual. We have played imitation games since we were babies, learning that smiles and cries are rewarded with affection and attention. 

To imitate Jesus and those who imitated him in all the right ways, we need to spend time reading the parts of the Bible that tell how Jesus lived and how his closest followers put into practice what he modeled and taught. This begins with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the Book of Acts. 

Daily doses of observing and imitating Jesus make us more fruitful and effective in every area of our lives. Observe the way Jesus related to his followers, his adversaries, and those he encountered along the way. Notice how he responds to crises and conversations. 

Who do you know who imitates Jesus well? How could you arrange to spend more time with them?

How do you read the Gospels and Acts to learn from Jesus and those closest to him? 

What new habit in this regard would grow you in grace and truth, producing the kind of life others can imitate with confidence that you are imitating Jesus?

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I will study Jesus daily so that I may live a life worth imitating.

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Our Father, teach me so that I may teach others. Empower me to live what I learn. Make me a model worth imitating. Amen.