Who's Following?

“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” (1Co 4:16 AV)

 

This is a pretty bold statement.  Paul is writing to Corinth, a very carnal and young church.  He is telling them to follow him as he follows Christ.  To that end, he is sending Timothy, a young preacher, to teach them and administer biblical principles in the church that they might grow thereby.  His statement is not one of arrogance.  Although some took it that way.  We know this because, by the time he sent his second letter, they were questioning the qualifications and authority of an apostle.  They began to wonder if Paul could be followed.  At their inception, this young church needed strong leadership to pave the way for them.  They needed someone of a disciplined life to show them how to live.  This is not arrogance.  Sometimes, we need to see how someone applies the word of God so that we can imitate obedience and faith.  We do that our whole lives.  We follow our elders. We follow our teachers.  We follow those who know more than we do so that we can learn and be what we know we can be.  To follow is a human trait.  The question is, who is following us, and is it a good thing?

There have been pastors in my life from whom I learned a great deal.  Others set an example for me to follow, but for one reason or another, I failed.  At least initially.  One such great preacher was Bro. Hal Roscoe.  He was my real first pastor.  He was the pastor of our singles class.  The LORD saved me a few weeks shy of my 18^th birthday.  So, when I started attending our church, I never did go to the teen class.  I went right to the singles class.  Hal was many things.  Above all, he was a friend.  There were times when my heart was completely broken.  He was always there and bore me up as I struggled through hard times.  However, if you were to ask those who knew him well what one trait he had above all others, it would be his personal work in winning the lost to Christ.  You would think as extroverted and genuine as he was he would have pastored a church of thousands, but he didn’t.  It seemed like God asked him to dedicate his efforts to the long game.  The souls God gave him were not the easy ones.  The ones God gave him were the ones that took months, if not years, to win.  The thing about Hal was when you met him, he would never let you forget you had met.  He would build a relationship with you that went deep and lasted through good times and bad.  Before he was your soul winner or pastor, he was your friend.  That was Hal.  I say all that to say, I had much to learn from him.  But the hand of the LORD took me away to other places and towards other principles to learn.  I regret not being able to sit at Hal’s feet and watch him as he worked with others.  He was truly someone to follow.

For better or for worse, some are following.  Our children, grandchildren, church members, friends, etc.  They all follow to some degree.  They follow in good things or bad things.  People will follow a good example as much as they might follow a bad one.  We are being watched. We are being emulated whether we like it or not.  Whether we accept the responsibility or not, it matters not.  That young one is watching.  He is waiving his arms to the music because he sees his daddy do it.  That young lady is fixing her hair the way mom does it.  The mannerisms we use are being emulated by others.  Our question is: can we ask others to follow as Paul did?  They will by nature.  But, are we living our lives in such a way that we can encourage others to follow?  Yesterday, we sat at a restaurant that was filling up with patrons.  I asked if any wanted to pray.  None said they would.  So, I did.  What I did do was to pray loud enough so others in our vicinity would hear it.  Why?  Maybe some will follow.  I can still ask myself, are there areas others are following that do not need to follow?  Can I agree with Paul that I am someone worthy to follow?  Or, do I have much work to do so that I can be an example worth following?