How Many of Us Can Say This?
1 Corinthians vi 16 (NIV) "Therefore I urge you to imitate me."
Have you ever thought about how bold a statement the Apostle Paul makes here? I mean come on, that sounds awful prideful, that he should desire others to be like him. Aren't we suppose to imitate Christ, not other men? The apostle makes many references to looking to him, some of them kinda make me chuckle when I read them. The one I really like is:
2 Corinthians v 12 (NIV) "We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an oppurtunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart."
Now right off the bat some people might take offence to that, they have always said that Christ is our ultimate example, and we are to look to no man to pattern our lives but Christ. The apostle by no means detracts from Christ in any sense, nor would he desire to do so. These verses are in the bible though, and have been written by the apostle. I guess that we should take a long hard look at our lives, and the ways in which we live. Thinking all the while to ourselves, do I live in a manner, that is pleasing to God, and such that I could desire that other men could imitate me.
If you are a parent you should really look hard at your own lives, and see if you are living lives that you would desire your children to live like. Children always look up to someone, and the people they most like to look up to is their parents. Yet too often their parents let them down, and they look elsewhere for a role model. They often turn to other people to look up to as role models other than Christian people. Christian parents should rise and be counted worthy an example for their kids, to pattern their lives after.
Let us take some time to look at our lives, and compare them to the scriptures, looking to see what areas we can clean up to live upright lives before all men. So that when others look at us they see Christ, and that in imitating us their lives too will imitate Christ.
1Corinthians xv 10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
Have you ever thought about how bold a statement the Apostle Paul makes here? I mean come on, that sounds awful prideful, that he should desire others to be like him. Aren't we suppose to imitate Christ, not other men? The apostle makes many references to looking to him, some of them kinda make me chuckle when I read them. The one I really like is:
2 Corinthians v 12 (NIV) "We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an oppurtunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart."
Now right off the bat some people might take offence to that, they have always said that Christ is our ultimate example, and we are to look to no man to pattern our lives but Christ. The apostle by no means detracts from Christ in any sense, nor would he desire to do so. These verses are in the bible though, and have been written by the apostle. I guess that we should take a long hard look at our lives, and the ways in which we live. Thinking all the while to ourselves, do I live in a manner, that is pleasing to God, and such that I could desire that other men could imitate me.
If you are a parent you should really look hard at your own lives, and see if you are living lives that you would desire your children to live like. Children always look up to someone, and the people they most like to look up to is their parents. Yet too often their parents let them down, and they look elsewhere for a role model. They often turn to other people to look up to as role models other than Christian people. Christian parents should rise and be counted worthy an example for their kids, to pattern their lives after.
Let us take some time to look at our lives, and compare them to the scriptures, looking to see what areas we can clean up to live upright lives before all men. So that when others look at us they see Christ, and that in imitating us their lives too will imitate Christ.
1Corinthians xv 10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
posted by James | 12:50 PM
1 Comments:
Good devotional thoughts, James. Keep them coming.
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