Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Christ is the example.
The irony of typing the previous sentence was that the blue line for bad grammar—which often appears when I’m writing—appeared under the word “the”. The autocorrect option was to change it to “an”. Therefore, the suggestion was to change it from Jesus being “the example” to being “an example”.
When We Treat Jesus Like An “An”
Not at all to say that the autocorrect was giving its theological opinion but it is true that we can have that posture toward Jesus—He is merely an example and another example. We admire Jesus. We revere Jesus. But, our posture toward Jesus can be treating Him as an “an” rather than a “the”.
The testimony of Revelation—and the rest of Scripture for that matter—is that Christ is the end-all-be-all (Rev. 1:5-8). He is the Champion (Rev. 1:17-18). He is the Teacher (Rev. 1:1). He is the Savior (Rev. 5:12). He is the King (Rev. 4:8-11). He is the Lord of History (Rev. 5:5).
“The” is the most appropriate article given to Christ. It is the definite article, meaning that Christ is the singular Savior and Lord.
Absolutely no one and no thing compares with Christ. He is unrivaled. He is absolute. He is complete. He is the total package. He is not restricted or limited in any way. What He does once, He—nor anyone else—needs to alter nor add to it.
Christ: The Example
To make Christ our example means to imitate, copy, and model ourselves after Him. He is utterly worthy of being followed. As plants grow toward the sunlight, so Christians grow toward Christ. He is the one whose glory we should behold most (2 Cor. 3:18). He is the one whose Person we adore most (Col. 1:15-23).1
Oh Lord, let us look carefully and closely at you. Fix our heart’s affection upon you. May we faithfully examine you thoroughly. Not to “master” you—for that is impossible—but to be mastered by you. Increase our zeal to make you our chief delight. Grant us the yearning to find out more and more about you. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever but the “you-ness” of that verse never implies that you are stale, boring, or measurable. The “you-ness” is one of infinite, boundless, immeasurable majesty.
Our heart’s idols are trinkets that deserve to be fuel for the fire of your wrath. Forgive us Lord Jesus. Save us from our sins while sparing us by your grace. We are desperate for a bigger view of you. We are needy for a revival of godly fear. We are thirsty for greater communion with you. Have mercy on us and rid us of that which hinders our faith.
Do the work of excavation in our hearts to root out all that pretends to rival you. Dig into the marrow of our souls and pluck up the worldly cares that threaten the seed of the gospel. As we journey from City of Destruction to the Celestial City, guard our feet from slipping into the crevasse of despair or climbing the false pedestal of pride. Pour into our hearts the fresh fragrances of your covenant faithfulness. In the presence of your glory, may all other “lights” disappear. You are perfect and have nothing that needs to be made right or reworked. You are bottomless in merciful forgiveness and limitless in in steadfast love. May we live for no one’s applause but yours—and how riveting to our hearts will it be when we witness this!
What a relief when the measure of the presence of sin “zeros out” in our lives. As death purges sin from us and the Beatific Vision vivifies us. You Yourself will be the the bliss of Heaven. Our breath will be taken away at the sight of your infinite worth. May your grace become far more vivid to our conscience so that it vitalizes our days for you. Make our hearts upright and holy the more we behold you by faith. Assure us that in the Heavenly Tribunal—no “legal fiction” but as real as it gets—that our justification is as sure as the Cross was sure for You. Sign your name upon our heads as you have surely signed our names upon your Book. Give us the reciprocal relationship of mutual love—although your’s is far greater for us than our’s is for you.
Who makes us more qualified to enter Heaven’s eternal Sabbath than you? Who beautifies us with resplendent robes of righteousness like you? There is no need for us to pretend to be righteous because through union with you we have forever been declared to have your righteousness. Sovereignly orchestrate our lives to receive what is most optimal for our sanctification. May we never have another day where we neglect you—yet may we also know that it is guaranteed that you’ll never neglect us.
How much more we could say about you! Forgive us for our small thoughts. Forgive us for not believing what we say. Forgive us for twisting the biblical and faithful description and having ill thoughts of you. Forgive us for trembling with sinful fear as if we are still under the covenant of works.
Bring us all the way home. And on the way there, make us imitators of you.
That is not a Trinitarian comment but a comment on the fact that He, God in our flesh, is worthy of our greatest admiration above all else in creation. By admiring Him above all, we grow in our communion with the Triune God.