1 CORINTHIANS 11:1

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

TO PONDER

Those you who read yesterday's devotion will appreciate how happy and excited I was to see today's verse. I always knew it was ok for Jesus to be an example to follow.

But that's not actually the compelling part of today's verse for me. What hit me as I read this was that the apostle Paul was able to say to the Corinthians, "follow my example".

Granted, he went on to say, "as I follow the example of Christ" but how confident would you be of the example you are setting to others both within our church and outside of it as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the world today? If Jesus is our example then how good a job are each of us doing of being an example to the rest of the world?

The idea of an apprenticeship is for an apprentice to one day become a master of whatever craft he has been apprenticed in and be capable of passing on his knowledge to the next generation of craftspeople. While we may not have the capacity to attain the same mastery of life as Jesus, this side of eternity, we are supposed to learn from Jesus example and to be an example to others.

So next time you are tempted to compromise your behaviour or your faith to 'fit in' with a group of friends or colleagues, consider being an example to them instead.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, even in the face of suffering and death, you did not compromise who you were or the purpose for which you had come. Please help me to be an example of your resurrection life in everything I do today. Amen

today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle