The Copy Cat Religion

In most circles the practical aspects of the Christian life can be summed up in one word: imitation. The New Testament is riddled with references to modeling ourselves after what we see in others. Paul speaks of this when he says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” John also speaks of imitating.

But what does that mean? How literally do we take the idea of imitating Paul, for example? Should I travel to different cities to plant churches as he did? Should I dress like him? Should I do what I can to get beat up and thrown in jail for preaching Jesus Christ? How far should our imitation of Paul go?

 

It’s pretty ridiculous to consider some of those things, but it’s not that far from the way many Christians live. In many churches you’ll meet folks who dress the same, use the same phrases and language, eat the same foods, and have a similar standard of living. Sometimes this extends to bible-reading and prayer habits as well.

How much of this is related to what Paul was talking about? I would personally say very little, and in some cases none of it. This is because so much of Christianity focuses on outward appearances and neglects the true source of Paul’s life. The reality of imitation lies in the second half of the verse above: “as I the Lord.” What did Paul imitate in Christ?

Living By the Life of Another

The fact is that Jesus Christ Himself was also imitating someone:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” John 5:19

According to this verse, Jesus Christ could not live the Christian life. While He was on the earth, He lived by the life of His Father in heaven. He was imitating what His Father was doing. It wasn’t a matter of looking at things Father had done in the past and figuring out which of them to do. “What would Dad do if He were here?”

Christ was so connected to the life of His Father that He didn’t have to wonder what Dad would do. The Son could see what His Father was doing and be a part of it! This is the essence of the Christian life: living by the indwelling life of another person. When we see Jesus Christ as He is, we see everything He did on earth as inseparable from the indwelling life of His Father.

Imitation for Paul was not merely matching the actions of Christ. He penned the very words of Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." He lived by the life of Jesus Christ! The Christian life is much more than conforming to external standards. At its core it is Jesus Christ Himself and living internally by His life. Anything external flows from His life in us.

So what does that mean for us? One, we can live by the life of our indwelling Lord. As I mentioned in the previous post, Jesus Christ lives in us. The very life of God is at work in you and me, that He might be fully manifested in our mortal bodies. The more we behold His glory, the more deeply we drink of His love for us, the more of Him that we lay hold of, the more visible He will be in our lives.

Second, be careful who (and how) you imitate. By His grace the Lord gives us brothers and sisters to help us see more clearly how to live the Christian life. Some may have the outward appearance of godliness but not the substance of Jesus Christ on the inside. Hebrews 13:7 tells us to consider the outworking of someone's life (external), but to actually imitate their faith (internal). May we have the eyes and wisdom of Christ to discern the difference.

Living by His life,

Ryan