A Pattern to Follow

A Pattern to Follow

I believe the day I die my kids are going to be forced to sort through, or throw away, a truck load of rather unextraordinary looking crafts that they will have made through the years. My lovely wife has them make crafts nearly every day and the result is that I have already ran into difficulty storing these flowers and turkeys and handprints. There’s nothing of value in the materials, except that they are patterns of the ones that I love most. That’s what we should be in the Church, patterns of the one we love most.

Paul told the church in Corinth, “I urge you, imitate me… Imitate me…” (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). To the Philippians he instructed “join in following my example…The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do” (Phil. 2:17; 4:9). Paul was confident that through his pursuit of God, if individuals would copy him, they too would be in the pattern of God. Our lives ought to stand as a pattern for others to look to, as to have a pattern by which they might follow.

Do we actually reflect Christ in the fullest sense that we could? What would it look like if the entire Church imitated you? What would it look like if every member carbon copied your action and attitude at worship and throughout their walk of life?

What evangelism looks like?

· How many deep religious conversations would be had?

· How many people would be invited to join worship?

· How many offers to understand scripture would be given?

How encouraging would the Church be?

· How many calls, texts, or cards would be sent?

· How many visitors would be welcomed and built up?

What would the worship assembly be like if everyone participated like you?

· How fervently would we sing?

· How engaged would we be?

We need to take responsibility for the patterns we’ve chosen to model our lives by and make certain that it’s a model others could copy to look like Christ. We might also do well to remember in those moments we see one another not living up to the pattern of Christ, that just like the handprints of children, we don’t throw them away or devalue them because their imperfect, but cherish them for who they represent.

I love You,

Jonathan