Good morning. One of the most courageous statements of the apostle Paul has to be from his words in Philippians 4:9 and from 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
The reason that he could make such a command was revealed with the end of that sentence from 1 Corinthians “as I follow the example of Christ.”
We live in a world that is desperate for leadership. I doubt that many of us are completely satisfied with the leadership we see from our politicians, and I am speaking of those from either side of the aisle. The same could be true for corporate Boards and of favorite sports teams. Confident and competent leadership is often the key ingredient to success, and that ingredient too often seems to be lacking.
I would suggest that we are collectively filled with doubts fueled by reports of failures. Since good news is so rarely recognized and reported, we may feel that those we would like to trust for leadership fall short of earning such trust.
Imagine then the level of confidence that would have been required of Paul to command the people of the early church that they should “follow his example”. Such words could only be spoken by a person who knows that he has a solid foundation of truth beneath him and a clear understanding of the direction needed to travel.
But he does make that command and he accompanies the command with this promise: And the God of peace will be with you.
Why is Paul so confident in his leadership? Because he knows the One who is leading him: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
In homes, or at workplaces, or schools, or any other place where we spend our days, the people around us are looking for someone who has the confidence to boldly lead. That person could be any of us, as long as we carefully follow the One who leads us.
We are worthy of being followed when we can honestly say that we are following the leadership of Christ.
Vern