Who Do You Imitate?

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (Heb 13:7 , ESV)
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. ( 3Jn 1:11, ESV)
We imitate those around us, especially when we are younger. But even older people often imitate those they are around the most. Have you ever seen a husband and wife who seem to have the same smile, the same mannerisms? Perhaps it’s because they have looked into each other’s faces so many times for so many years that they begin to reflect the other person more than their own image which they see daily in the mirror.
Disciples of Christ are called to be imitators of Christ. Ask a young person who they would most like to be like. If they are interested in sports, it may be some hero in the sport they love best. If they are interested in fashion or entertainment, it may be a model or a movie star, perhaps a famous singer. It used to be that boys wanted to grow up to be like their dads and girls wanted to grow up to be like their moms. You can still see that some times.
If those who believe Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Christ, were to really try to imitate Jesus, what would the world look like now? We chuckle at the joke about a woman who was arrested because she was using foul language at another driver, giving offensive sign language, and acting completely the opposite of the bumper stickers on her car. The police apologize because they were sure the car had been stolen; the woman was acting totally out of character for what her bumper stickers portrayed her as. What would Jesus Do? We love that little slogan. But it seems that while we might try to think once in a while about what Jesus would do in a given situation, we don’t stop to analyze the fact that we are to be in character, always. We should be living like Jesus so much so that others begin to find it difficult to see us more than Jesus.
If a young person started acting like a famous person, wearing the same kinds of clothes, imitating the gestures, the walk, the way of talking, people would begin to say that something was wrong. They might even suggest that the person was out of it, losing his mind, over the top, and, well, you get the picture. A nut case. A wierdo.
The problem is, not many people are imitating Jesus to the point where others are saying those kinds of things about Christians. No one accuses Christians of being over the top, out of it, living in la-la land, or whatever. People don’t see Jesus; people see men and women who say they are Christians but who live as worldly a life as a non-believer. And so, Christianity isn’t attractive to many people. In Acts 2:47, it says the believers were “having favor with all the people.” That term, ‘having favor,’ is similar to the word attractive. Christians were attractive to the non-believing Jews because of their behavior. They were sharing their food, their homes, their worldly goods with those who had less or not at all. They were in each other’s homes to eat together and have fellowship. They shared in the tasks of the church, helping the poor, telling the good news to others. They literally lived to worship; they never thought of "going to church" because they were the church. They hung on every word from the apostles who were their leaders. They ate with glad and sincere hearts. They were thankful to God for such a great salvation.
In many towns and cities, Christians aren’t very attractive. We cringe if another Christian wants to visit our home. We rush away from church so we don't have to invite someone for lunch or in order to avoid being invited to lunch. Many believe that all activities of the local congregation should take place in the church building; don't bother people in their homes. Fellowship for some is worse than a trip to the dentist. Living as a Christian is seen more as a chore to be done than a life to be lived. And even though Jesus said he came to give life "abundantly" that is interpreted as life in the hereafter, not abundant, joyous living in the here and now. Others don't see Christians as transformed people because Christians don't want to take the time to change. To listen to many Christians, it would seem that life was so busy with their agenda that God's agenda just couldn't be considered; His agenda isn't on hold, it's out of the question entirely.
Do we dare to imitate Christ? Do we dare to “take up our cross, daily” and live as though we might be put to death for our beliefs? Do we dare to stand up, not just in word, but in deed, to a dying world with a message of peace and love and forgiveness? Do we dare show others that we, too, need to repent of time wasted, opportunities for the Lord missed, greediness, immoral thoughts, unethical practices, and lying to one another, to our mates, to our children, to our parents? Do we dare to live our lives as though we were covered in the blood of Jesus, a life that is truly incarnadine, blood-colored? If we dare, we might find a hungry and thirsty world ready to listen to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.