When I was growing up, I watched a lot of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

I could spend an entire afternoon after church watching double- and triple-headers. Then, I would go outside and try the moves I saw these professional players perform. Names like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone filled my afternoons as I pretended to be like them. I never really got Jordan’s fadeaway down, and I could never have a power game like Malone and Barkley, but I certainly tried! I imitated them in my attempt to get to that level.

The mission of the Apostle Paul was to lead others to salvation in Jesus Christ and teach them to live as best they could, like Christ. His missionary journeys led him all over, and many came to know the Savior through him. In a way, he saw himself as a spiritual father. So, when Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he was trying to help them fall back in line with what they knew was right, as a dad might. In chapter four, Paul challenged them to be imitators of him, and in chapter 11, he said, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.”

Paul wasn’t trying to make people be like him. He wanted them to see Jesus modeled in his life. There is nothing wrong with modeling how you play your sport after someone who does it well. But model your life after the One who lived the way we need to live. We won’t be perfect in our efforts, but God is faithful to reward and help us.