1 Corinthians 4:16-17

Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

The disciples learned how to follow Jesus by looking at His example. They saw how He responded to the constant demands of His ministry. They saw His kindness and patience and how He welcomed every kind of person. They were often shocked by the things that He said and by the sorts of people with whom He spent His time.

Paul didn’t have the privilege of observing Jesus’ ministry, but he recognised the crucial importance of people learning by example, and he offered his life as one to be imitated. How else would people learn how to put Christian teaching into practice? In our verses today, he tells the Corinthian church that he is sending his young friend Timothy to them so he can remind them of Paul’s example.

I suspect that we would all become rather coy at the thought of people copying our example. But every day, as we live for Christ, we are being watched. There is no way in which we can hide away, so we need to ensure that we are setting a good example which is well worth following.

Question

Who will be looking at your life today, and what example will you be setting?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for all the people who have set a good example for me to follow. Help me live a life which will help others to follow You. Amen