Imitators

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 11:1

Imitators – Have you ever encountered a great mime?  The genius is exact duplication.  Whatever you do, the mime does in perfect symmetry.  It’s like watching yourself in action.  I saw a movie once where the actor walked in front of what looked like a full-length hallway mirror.  He stopped to admire his reflection.  The character in the “mirror” exactly repeated each movement he made but when the scene was over, suddenly the man in the mirror stepped forward and I realized that it was not a mirror but a mime.

Our word for mime comes from the Greek word that Paul uses here: mimetai – to imitate.  Imitation is the teaching method of Jesus.  It applies to all of his followers too.  Can’t see Jesus?  Look at Paul.  Can’t see Paul?  Look at me.  If I am a true disciple of Jesus, I imitate him.  Nothing more is required.  I don’t have to be an innovator of grace, a spiritual entrepreneur, a religious revolutionary.  All I have to do is copy Him.

Our culture has an acrostic for this operating method:  WWJD.  What would Jesus do?  We know the letters.  We understand the idea.  But are we being copies of Him?  Think of the amazing simplicity of it.  Jesus does not ask you to do anything that He has not already done.  He does not ask you break yourself over the burdens of a world gone wrong.  He does not ask you to re-think his plan for a new generation.  He does not require you to come up with a new strategy or new tactics.  He just asks you to copy him.  Become an apprentice.  Learn by copying.

If you agree with Paul, then you instantly have an obligation.  How will you know how to copy the Lord if you don’t see what he is doing?  You can’t learn the skills of a master craftsman if you’re looking out the window.  If you are going to copy Jesus, you better spend some deliberate time watching what he does.  Don’t tell me that you don’t know what God wants from you in some situation until you have spent time watching Jesus work.  Mimes practice over and over so that they can immediately convert what they see into instant, perfect copies.