In Imitation of Paul and Christ

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.  Phil. 3:17

The children were outside playing and the proud mother noticed that they were playing ‘church.’ A little while later they came in soaking wet and all scratched up.  She asked, “I thought you were playing church.  What happened to you?”  Little Jill answered, “We were, and it was great until Jack decided to baptize the cat.”

 
We’ve often heard it said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. There are all kinds of imitation products on the market and there are people who live imitation lives – sometimes movie stars or popular musicians.  Their life might seem exciting and glamorous, but in reality it is more often a road to destruction. 
 
Children pretended – they play act – they emulated the adults around them, or made up stories based on their favorite heroes.  I used to pretend I was Jane (of Tarzan and Jane).  There were three trees in my back yard than made a perfect tree home and I would gather “food” – the berries from the Chinese tallow tree and the seed stems from the grass to make dinner for Tarzan when he came home.  Sometimes I would line my dolls up in my room and play school – I always wanted to be a teacher.  I usually didn’t have anyone else to play with so I could just make it up and do what I wanted to do, imitating heros and adults I knew. 
 
So when Paul invites the people of Philippi to imitate him, he means that they should try to pattern their lives after what they see him doing.  When some of the Thessalonians quit working and just hung around waiting for Christ to come back, Paul reminds them that when he came among them, he earned his own way by working as a tent maker.  He encourages them to imitate that.
 
I think maybe where we miss out is in not imitating Paul, but imitating what we think he should be like.  In his first letter to the Corinthians – Paul says:   “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law . . . so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law . . . so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.” 1Cor 9:19-23
 
Paul didn’t set himself apart from others – he didn’t hold himself above others.  He put himself in the middle of whatever situation he found himself in – so that he could talk to people without them taking offense - so that he could talk to people, and have them listen and to open up and talk back freely.
 
When you sit above others, and never put yourself on their level, how are they going to relate to you?  I read a scenario of people in a bar once – one there trying to drown his sorrows of a broken relationship, one walked through handing out Christian pamphlets, one of a woman looking for her lost sister, one looking for a drug connection, one was a young enthusiastic missionary telling people of the evils of alcohol and trying to get them to leave. 
 
To tell you the truth, I envisioned another person at the bar, one who would sit with the man with the broken relationship, and listen to him without condemnation, and become his friend, and gain his confidence, and then lead him out of there.  “I become all things to all people, so that by all possible means, I might save some.”  You can preach to hordes of people, but I believe that lives are transformed one at a time in particular circumstances. 
 
When God is ready to begin the process of transformation in a person, God will send the right person to the right place to light that spark and get the fire going.  It is a personal relationship on a level that can be heard, whether it's in a bar, on a basketball court, at the park or in your office. 
 
Paul invites us to not simply behave, but to look at the meaning of all we do in relationship to a much larger power and reality.  Transformation is the faith life in process.  No, we are not there yet – but we are invited to continue in the process.  We are invited to be real people, in real life situations, so that we might be able to win some for Christ. 
 
I think we also have to remember that it is Christ – through the Holy Spirit – who does the transformation.  We are at best a conduit – but more often simply the vehicle that brings the person into the presence of Christ. To Him be all glory, now and forever.  Amen.