Imitating Jesus

In our weekly bulletin articles over the last three weeks, we have considered ideas from Scripture that
describe the kind of ministry in which I hope to be involved. While these passages and ideas certainly discuss
the responsibilities that I have as a preacher and evangelist, they are not limited to those who work in full-time
ministry. I believe that these passages should be a part of every Christian’s life. So far, we have considered
the importance of preaching the word, serving others, and living within God’s family. This week, we are
concluding this series by thinking about how we are to imitate Jesus on a daily basis. Our central responsibility
is to imitate Jesus in everything that we do, say, and think. Let’s consider four God-inspired men in the New
Testament who believe this to be true.

Let’s begin with the apostle John. In 1 John 2:6, John writes, “Whoever says he abides in him ought
to walk in the same way in which he walked.” As disciples of Jesus, we cannot just “talk the talk”; we must
“walk the walk.” Making a claim is easy. Anyone can claim to follow Christ. Actually backing up that claim
with Christ-like action can be rather difficult, but that is exactly what we must do. As Christians, we cannot
simply claim to abide in Jesus; we must live in the same way that He lived.

What about the apostle Peter? In 1 Peter 2:21, Peter writes, “For to this you have been called, because
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” Although the
original context of this passage is concerned with the unjust suffering of servants, this principle is true in every
area of life. Jesus came to earth and left a perfect example for us to follow. Every day, we must choose to
follow in His footsteps.

Now, let’s consider the apostle Paul. In Ephesians 4:15, as Paul discusses the purpose of leadership in
the church, he writes, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the
head, into Christ.” Just as children often want to grow up to be like their parents, as we grow in our
relationships with God, it should be our goal to be more like Jesus in every way.
Most importantly, notice what Jesus says in Luke 6:40: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but
everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Jesus expects us to be fully trained by Him so that
we can become like Him.

Whether we are looking at John, Peter, Paul, or Jesus Himself, we find what we should be all about:
imitating Jesus in everything we do, say, and think. That is what I want to do in ministry. Even more
importantly, that is what we should be doing in our daily lives.

-Tyler Alverson