Core Value: Modeling Christ

I wish it were true that I could place my Bible under my pillow at night and wake up more spiritual. I wish it were true that when we came to faith in Christ, we never struggled with sin again. I wish it were true that by simply attending church, I would be guaranteed to never fail in my walk with Jesus. The reality is, none of these are true, and we know it all too well. We all struggle to walk with Jesus, and even fail Him at times. However, this does not mean that we shouldn’t make it our aim to follow Jesus and become more like Him. In fact, this is our aim! It is  also one of our core values at CBC. Calling it a “core value” though, might be an understatement. I would dare to say, as I often have in the past, that the chief responsibility of the Christian is to grow in Christ-likeness. This is what we are about. We want to follow Jesus, becoming like Him, and help others do the same. That’s how we got the name “Christian” to begin with. People identified us as those who followed Christ and His ways.
 
In the world of five-dollar theological terms, we call this “progressive sanctification.” It’s the idea of progressively becoming more and more like Jesus in how we live. We have our ups and down, for sure, but overall, we want to become more like Him over the course of our lives. For the sake of simplicity and relatability, I like to refer to this doctrine as “modeling.” No, not the modeling like you see on a runway show with fancy designer wear! We’re talking about looking to Christ as a role-model that we seek to imitate or copy.

Back in the summer of 2021, I taught a series on modeling Christ. I taught how we can model Christ as a church, in the family, in marriage, in all relationships, and in every circumstance. In this series, we discussed how we all look for other people to imitate and follow. We may call them role-models or mentors, but there’s something about them that we want to incorporate into the way we live. Don’t believe me? Just think of kids. They’re copycats! The mimic what they see and hear whether it’s good or bad. That’s scary as a parent! As a pastor, responsible for casting the vision for our church and for teaching, I’m always looking for exemplary characteristics in other churches or pastors that I want to imitate or incorporate into our church.
 
Paul praised the Thessalonians for being such a church. He says, “You… became imitators of us and of the Lord” and as such, “you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thess. 1:6-7).  The Greek word Paul uses for imitate (mimetes), reminds us of the word mimic. It’s a term that could refer to an actor who mimics a person or role. It may remind us of the Mimic Octopus that can change colors to blend in with its environment or change its shape to look like a poisonous lionfish, sea snake, or jellyfish to prevent being eaten by predators. The word Paul uses for example (typos) could refer to a stamped pattern, image, or recreated model. As Christians, we want the Christlike virtues like love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, and grace to be recreated in us by His Spirit.

When we truly follow Christ, people take notice. One man said, “We exist. We behave. Others notice.” They take mental notes about our faith and Jesus. They’re examining our lives and considering whether or not it would be helpful for them to follow Jesus as well. The atheistic philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said, “Show me that you are redeemed, and I’ll listen to you talk about your Redeemer.” He’s got a point. They understand we should live differently. So let’s show the world who Jesus is by how we live so that they too will find hope in Him. Ephesians 4:29-5:2 says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us.”