Follow Me as I Follow

One of the central ideas of having a relationship with Jesus Christ is imitating Him. We hear Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” This is vital as we do life over coffee with our friends. We must remain actively engaged in the process, not stepping back as though we are not part of it. Instead, we should turn to our friends and say, “Hey, I want you to follow me as I follow Christ.”

This principle also applies to parenting. Parents shouldn’t yell at their children to follow Jesus. Rather, a parent should say, “I want you to follow me as I follow Christ,” and teach them to do the same. Another relevant text is Ephesians 5:1, which urges us to imitate God as beloved children. Philippians 4:9 similarly reflects this idea, where Paul says, “Do as I have done. And if you do, the God of peace will be with you.”

In all these texts, we see the same idea: every Christian is a leader. People are watching us, emulating us, reacting to us, or rejecting us. Therefore, we must strive to imitate God as best we can. Part of that imitation involves repenting, since none of us are perfect. Even in our repentance, we provide something for others to imitate. When they fall, they will know what to do by observing our humble repentance.

In a home, this looks like a father following hard after Christ. His wife, submitted to him, also follows Christ diligently. Two things are true simultaneously: everyone is equal at the foot of the cross, and there are hierarchical structures. The world cannot function without hierarchy. In this context, the wife submits to the husband, and the children submit to the parents. This is the proper orientation of the home.

The leader of the home is Christ, and the husband should say, “Follow me as I follow the leader of our home, Christ,” and the children should do the same. Whether in the home or any other relationship, we should always be able to say, “I want you to follow me as I follow Christ.”