In a biblical sense, imitation can be viewed as a negative term for following Jesus. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell the difference between someone genuinely imitating a person because they were taught and trained by that person or if someone is mocking another person with the same likenesses. Today, I want to talk about how to imitate Jesus in sincerity and truth because you are born of Him and created in His image.
Sometimes, the words follow and imitate can mean the same thing. When used in its right context, imitation can mean an exact replication or reproduction of one into another. This idea was highlighted when Jesus reproduced Himself in His apostles. They, in turn, reproduced themselves in others whom they taught and called their sons.
Jesus and His disciples are one example. Paul and Timothy were also good examples of imitation. Paul often sent Timothy, whom he called His son, to minister and watch over churches that he could not attend in person. Timothy worked as an imitator of Paul's gospel, who, in turn, followed Jesus. Timothy obeyed Paul's teaching of "follow me (imitate me) as I follow (imitate) Christ."
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:15-17
For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, to be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
Imitate Jesus?
How many of you have always thought that the commandment to follow Jesus was just the idea of following, as in tag along with or follow behind? This idea would be true in the beginning of following Him. You begin by joining yourself to Him and His gospel. You hear and learn His ideas and see the glory of who He is and where He came from. How long would it take before you want to be like Him and have everything He has?
Being close to Jesus and getting to know Him means you will want to take His place when He is gone, and that's exactly what Jesus had in mind when He called His disciples to follow Him. Are we any different than His disciples? Aren't we called to follow Jesus and become imitators of His divine plan?
It is our turn to be the Christ who bears witness to the kingdom of God.
For us, the following starts with getting close to Jesus and getting to know Him through His words, which are His teachings, as well as learning His voice and understanding His Spirit. While learning Him, you also get to know yourself. This is where you learn to become a new person, where your life becomes His. As you grow, it becomes clear that your life is looking a lot like Jesus.
All of the followers of Jesus have a place in the kingdom, and that's nothing to take lightly. But there is a follower who begins by staying close to Jesus in such a way that learning His ways transforms them into the same image and likeness. This is where you learn to be an imitator of Jesus. Some imitate Him in general, while others desire to be just like Him in every word and action.
When Jesus called you to follow Him, wasn't He saying to come learn to imitate Him? Not just copy Him, but become Him in every way. If the originator teaches someone in such an intimate way so that they learn not only the same skills as the originator but the mindset and intent also, what would be the difference between them? Nothing. They would be the same. That's why Jesus could trust His apostles to be in His stead on earth after He returned to heaven.
The apostle Paul described this scenario in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 when he taught that God was in Christ doing His work among people on earth. Paul was saying that Jesus was the exact imitation of His Father God. Paul then continues by saying that he, in turn, followed that same idea and was the ambassador of Christ to act in His stead as though Jesus Himself was there.
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The imitator is no longer just a copy but an exact likeness of His creator. Isn't this what Jesus had in mind when He called you to follow Him? Paul was an imitator of Christ because Jesus taught Him to be that. In return, he called His followers to follow him or imitate him, as he imitates Christ. Now, we are here today because we are all following Jesus. It's time to take our following to the next level.
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