FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Christians.

They are a group of people who have chosen a religion called Christianity and they did so by simply believing in a Savior named Jesus Christ.

Within Christianity, these believers gain the title “disciples” which simply means they are Jesus followers.

But what are Christian believers supposed to follow when it comes to Jesus?

The answer is everything.

For if a person wants to be a true Christian then they follow the example of the Savior they believe in. After all, the root of the word Christian is Christ, right? His disciples are expected to be Christ-like.

This is the point we find the Apostle Paul making as he opens the eleventh chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians. Through his dedicated work for the cause of Christ, sharing the Gospel across the nations during his four missionary journeys, he sought to emulate Jesus and in doing so, he made himself a role model for the new Christian disciples he made.

So how would someone know that a Christian was following the example of Jesus?

Here are three main byproducts that would serve as indicators:

1. The Christian will serve selflessly.

If there was one quality of Jesus that stood out, it was His selflessness. Although He was the very Son of God, one with His Father, He never placed Himself ahead of the people He was sent to save. Rather, He dedicated Himself to bring salvation to all mankind, knowing all along that He would need to die in order to make that happen, the final atoning sacrifice needed to cover the penalty for sin.

Indeed, Jesus was unselfish all the way to Calvary’s cross, willing to suffer Himself to spare others the same. Anyone who truly follows His example will be willing to do likewise for His cause and His sake.

2. The Christian will stay true to His beliefs and doesn’t compromise.

Jesus was slandered and threatened continuously. Jewish religious leaders planned and carried out His execution with the help of the Romans who unleashed incredible brutality and abuse on Him before nailing His hands and feet to a cross and hoisting Him to die.

And Jesus knew it would happen before it did.

Yet, He carried on and persevered. He never compromised and instead allowed the will of His Father God to be His own, even if it meant to drink from the cup of suffering.

Today, Christians still face persecution and threats for boldly representing Jesus in the world. It’s critical that believers follow the example of their Savior and stand firm in carrying out the Great Commission, sharing the Gospel unapologetically and without concession.

3. The Christian loves unconditionally.

There is a hymn written in the 1960’s that carries this title, a title that is also a dominant chorus in the song. It simply proclaims this:

They will know we are Christians by our love.

In other words, if we love others as Jesus loved, then others will know without a doubt that we are Christians.

The hymn was based on words spoken by Jesus Himself in the Gospel of John where He said:

“By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” 13:35

Jesus loved perfectly because everything about Him was perfect. That means there was no flaw in the love He extended to others.

Christians on the other hand are inherently flawed people. Left to their own devices, they will consistently and persistently love the wrong way. They need an example to follow, a love role model to show them the way to love properly.

Jesus is that perfect love role model and any Christian who commits themselves to love as He did will prove themselves to be Christians for they will be known as such by their love.

Friends, the only instruction manual we have as Christians is our Bible. For in it, we find the detailed life of Jesus chronicled in the first four books of the New Testament and commentary on that life elsewhere, like here in 1 Corinthians.

The scriptures provide all the knowledge we need to follow the example of Christ. It’s up to us to devote ourselves to live like Him every day in every way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com