Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

Do Only as I Say... Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-21 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 1 Corinthians 4:16 The hardest task for leaders is to say, “Imitate me.” It is far easier to give church members a Bible and say, “Do as I say, and not as I do...” Paul’s 'way of life in Christ Jesus' (v 17) was above reproach. Paul reasserts his apostolic authority and re-establishes his right to discipline misbehaviour. In changing the metaphor from ‘farm’ to ‘household’, Paul appeals to the church as a father would appeal to his children. They should ‘imitate him’ in his role as their spiritual father. And if a father’s ‘gentleness’ will not change their persistent disobedience, he threatens, then to visit them with a rotan (cane) instead. We note the tensions that exist in leadership in Christian ministry: how to be biblically authoritative without being harsh, and how to impose church discipline without assuming the leader is above or removed from the members’ sins. All leaders struggle like Paul for the behaviour and attitude of their flock to conform to the Gospel. The task is made more difficult when members think they know better. For Paul, the coming judgement of Christ (v 5) was not just theological truth. It is the one reality that must dictate, condition and influence the church’s present reality and entire existence. The certainty of Christ’s return should ‘radicalise’ the church’s present practices and perceptions. Leader or parent, the call is to bring those under our care to a confrontation with Christ’s claims over us. Pray for parents to have spiritual wisdom and moral strength to disciple and discipline their children in the ways of God. Are we able to put our lives forth as an example and testimony to all around us, and say, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ”?