Others are watching!

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Nehemiah 12:27–13:31 
1 Corinthians 11:1-16 
Psalm 35:1-16 
Proverbs 21:17-18

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

1 Corinthians 11:1 (CSB) "Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verse for Today seems presumptuous, doesn't it? Would you feel comfortable telling someone to imitate you as you pursue holiness?

Yet, Paul didn't just say this one time. Look at the following references:

1 Corinthians 4:16 "Therefore I urge you to imitate me."

Philippians 3:17 "Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us."

1 Thessalonians 1:6 "and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit."

2 Thessalonians 3:9 "It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us." 

What are we to make of these instructions as Paul encourages the first century saints to follow his example? Is Paul being arrogant? Of course not! 

What he is essentially saying is: 

People need God's instruction but they also need a 'real life' example to see how those instructions play out. They need someone to illustrate for them exactly what it means to follow Christ in their particular culture and their particular era. So, Paul was saying that while he hadn't arrived at perfection, he was definitely headed in the right direction - toward Christlikeness. So, he encouraged others to join him on the journey as he tried to provide for them a helpful, godly example.

Friend, while it would definitely sound presumptuous for us to encourage others to follow our example, we need to realize that others are watching our example. 

They see how we act. 
They listen to what we say. 
They are trying to assess our motives and attitudes. 
They're watching!

Are you giving them a good example to follow? If not, allow the knowledge that others are watching you to motivate you to take your walk with Jesus much more seriously. Feel the pressure to become more like Jesus.

And maybe, just maybe, when you get to Heaven, others will tell you that they were watching you, had come to realize that you provided for them a godly example, and they were imitating you.