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Imitation
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 11:1
As young children, we learn from our parents. Sometimes the influence of an older sibling, family member or friend also guides us. Imitation is a key method of learning but is not limited to when we are young. It has benefits for learning new tasks and behaviors at all ages. Ask anyone over the age of 55 how they learn new technology … watch others!
Too many times, when I have read this one verse challenge from St. Paul, I blow him off. After all, this apostle of Christ did have a rather healthy ego, did he not? He did proclaim, “If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” (Philippians 3:4a-6) Paul does go on to explain that it is in knowing Christ and suffering for His sake that makes all this braggadocio meaningless to him.
But merely “knowing” Christ doesn’t seem quite enough. And, goodness knows, I am just like the rest of humanity in wanting to avoid suffering. I’ve known Christ all my life … surely by now I would be able to imitate Paul in being more like Christ! But too often, I have experiences where I have chosen to be Sharron and not act in ways more like Christ.
We have the book of Genesis to thank for this idea that we were made in the image, in the likeness, of God. Our origin and destiny are that we are made in the image of God. And to grow into that image, we believe we must conform our behavior and cultivate our habits to being like God’s Son. But for us humans, that is impossible, isn’t it?
Living good lives that reflect our Creator and Redeemer is important. However, all of our human striving cannot make us good. No amount of worship, study of Scripture, giving to the poor, or prayer can accomplish that. We are only made good through the redeeming work of the Cross and in the empty tomb. And once we have accepted for ourselves that grace given to us, it is through the almost imperceptible slow work of the Spirit we take baby steps toward holiness, toward becoming like Christ. Paul himself promises us that it is that same Spirit who transforms us “into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
It does help if we can grow more and more in getting ourselves out of the way, making a conscious decision each day to follow Christ. We can never earn our way into holiness. But the more we choose to follow Christ each day, the more likely we are to grow into the likeness of Christ.
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