At the start of 2023 at CCC we’ve been exploring Nehemiah and his story of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. We’re asking how what we read about Nehemiah helps us now as we want to live as God’s people. We’ll be exploring ‘discipleship practices’ such Prayer, Hearing God’s Voice, Dealing with Opposition, and Seeking Justice.
But it’s not as simple as just doing what Bible characters did. None of them were perfect, and the Bible describes what they did in their lives; it does not prescribe that we should do exactly the same!
That’s why a phrase in the next few verses of 1 Thessalonians caught my eye. Last time we read 1 Thessalonians 1.1-3. Reading the next three verses we find Paul describing how the gospel came to the Thessalonian people and then he says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.”
I’m sure there were aspects of his life that Paul would not have recommended the Thessalonians to imitate, but he was confident that his way of life was a significant part of his sharing the gospel of Jesus, along with his words. People could see the Jesus-life by looking at him.
Ultimately, as Paul says too, our call is to imitate the Lord Jesus, and we do that by seeing Jesus’ way of living in people around us.
Who have you seen the Jesus-life in? Who do you see it in now? Are there ways you choose to live now that you know are imitations of how you’ve seen other people following Jesus?
As Paul says, we are “brothers and sisters loved by God”. Confident in that, we can look for the Jesus-life in each other, in Nehemiah, in Paul, and of course in Jesus. By faith, we aim to live the Christlike life!