Being an Imitator
You can stand firm in Jesus by imitating those who are truly following Jesus.
Every year with the students, we celebrate the end of the school year by doing something called “Color Chaos”. One of the staple events is a slip ‘n slide tug of rope match. We slather a tarp in baby oil, dish soap, and paint. Then we line up all the students in teams and tell them to pull. And do you know what happens as soon as we say go? They all immediately fall down. It is carnage. And it can be the same in our own lives, can’t it? We can think that we are in a pretty good spot, but then the pressures of life creep in, we get unexpected news, our situation changes, and before we know what’s happened, we’ve fallen flat on our face.
We all want a faith that allows us to stand firm in Jesus, but it seems like all too often these situations expose our faith rather than prove our faith. In Philippians 1:27 Paul says, “Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel”. Paul wants the Philippians to have a relationship with God that allows them to stand firm in any situation in life – whether they have Paul or not, whether they are rich or poor, whether there is peace or opposition.
In Philippians 4:1 he says, “So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.” He says, “in this manner stand firm” – in what manner? Well, in the manner that he just wrote about! And in 3:17, the first verse of our section today, Paul has another command for his readers: “Join in imitating me”. These two commands form a bookend of our text that give us truth for today: You can stand firm in Jesus by imitating those who are truly following Jesus. Paul goes on to describe three ways that we can imitate him as he goes about his life:
Imitate Paul’s Love for Jesus
We are all being shaped in some way or another to love something. The practices and activities that you do are training you to be a certain kind of person, they are not spiritually neutral. They shape you to love and hope and long for something. Spiritual disciplines are practices that we implement in our lives that push back against harmful practices and open us up to the transforming power of God in our life. We typically think of Bible Reading and Prayer as the main spiritual disciplines, but many have pointed out practices like Christian Community, Serving Others, Evangelism, Generosity, and Fasting. These aren’t an end in themselves, but as we start to practice them in faith, we begin to change into the kind of people who live lives worthy of the gospel, who love Jesus more and more. Is there a spiritual discipline you can start practicing this week that has been lacking in your life?
Imitate Paul’s Loyalty to Jesus
“Jesus is Lord” was said to push back against “Caesar is Lord”. There was a temptation for Christians to compromise in their loyalty to Jesus by taking part in Emperor worship, “Whats the big deal? Its just burning a little incense!” Would have been the thought. But Scripture is so clear that if Jesus is Lord then he is Lord of all – he does not share the throne. Are there areas in your life where you have divided loyalties? Repent. Whatever it is you are holding onto, count it as loss for the sake of knowing Christ.
Imitate Paul’s Longing for Jesus
Paul tells Christians to, “Set your mind on the things above, and not on earthly things”. You have a choice each day, each moment, where you set your mind. Fight to hope in Jesus. Fight to hold him in your mind daily. Allow the disappointments and letdowns of life to be reminders of the Savior who is coming one day to renew all things. That future hope influences our present action. Let your longing for Jesus and his coming motivate you to work towards making his kingdom a reality on earth here and now.
We all want a faith that will enable us to stand firm in the face of any trial or opposition that we might face. That kind of faith is not something that happens just though a bunch of study, even though it certainly involves that. We can stand firm in Jesus through imitating those who are truly following Jesus. In Philippians we see Paul’s love for Jesus, his loyalty to Jesus, and his longing for Jesus. Find people who love Jesus, are fiercely loyal to Jesus, and long for Jesus, and do what they do. Being the kind of disciple of Jesus that he calls you to be doesn’t happen by accident – it does take intentionality, it takes effort. We are afraid of this sometimes because we think if we put forth effort in our walk with God, we will be denying the grace of God, but we need to remember what one author said, “Grace is opposed to earning, not effort”. So, what are steps that you can take toward this goal of living a life surrendered to Jesus, becoming like him, and leading others to do the same? We are talking about more than simply new activities, although not less – we need to become new kinds of people!