“Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” -1 Corinthians 11:1

I’ve always found this verse difficult to understand because when I look at my life, I can see some areas of God’s transforming power at work but there are still areas I often don’t imitate Christ as I should. The reality is we all have areas we are particularly weak in. So, how could Paul make such a bold statement?

I used to think this verse only applied to the areas of life we have “success” in. I’m coming to understand though how much we also need godly examples to show us how to approach times of struggle and sin, for those times are as much a part of the life of the Christian as the times we experience growth in godliness. We need people to model for us how to repent and confess in the times we sin. We need examples of how to cling to and depend on Christ in the times of struggle.

The apostle Paul (who wrote this verse and similar ones) called himself least of all believers so he didn’t have an elevated view of himself. He didn’t view himself as some sort of super-Christian. Instead we see him being honest about his struggles with sin- doing the evil he didn’t want to and not doing the good he wanted to do. (Romans 7) Can anyone else relate?! Paul called himself a wretched man but he immediately looked to Christ- the One we find our righteousness in and the God who is able to save us. It is through the power of His Spirit, God is working in us what is pleasing in His sight. Through the strength of the Lord alone, we can seek to imitate godly examples around us.

Sometimes I am most encouraged when I see/hear someone owning their sin and share how God has and is working in the midst of it. It is a rarity these days. I wonder how many opportunities we miss to be salt and light in this world when we refuse to tell of the love of Christ we experience when our flesh is weak and fails? It is natural to try to cover our sin but when we humble ourselves before others, it shows the posture of our heart and it reveals who we love the most.With God’s help, we can start caring less about people’s perception of ourselves and care more about pointing others to the beautiful, sufficient grace of God. It is a joy to invite others to come and see what Christ has done and is doing in our lives.

We are not alone in our struggles with sin, and the difficulty of being and imitating godly examples. Yet we are still told to tell others of the kindness of Jesus, to give a reason for the hope within us and to proclaim the excellencies of His amazing grace. We can do this because, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)