Who's Telling On You?

Discovery is totally dependent on what you're looking for. That is why we miss so much. No where is that more true than when we look a God's Word. It is so totally new every time I look at it because I'm not the same person who looked at the last time. I'm different, changing - with the help of God, being transformed into His likeness. I want to be real about that journey, so I see things I didn't see before and that makes the journey exciting, amazing, and scary.

Here's a discovery that knocked-my-socks-off spiritually. When you're in the Word looking for affirmation that our number one goal is to seek Jesus and be like Him as much as possible, you get hit with a passage like this (and how many times have you read it?): "Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord" And just what do you want him to do Paul? "HE WILL REMIND YOU OF MY WAY OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHICH AGREES WITH WHAT I TEACH EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH." 1 Cor.4:16-17

I don't know whether to say "WOW!" or "OUCH!". First of all, how comfortable would you be asking everyone to imitate your walk with God? Would the people you know be better off spiritually if they were more like you spiritually? Would it bring them into a deeper relationship with Jesus? And who's telling on you? Are there people in your life who are witnessing to the exemplary way you live for Jesus? Are they proclaiming that your walk matches your talk? Paul's credibility in correcting their spiritual immaturity depended on them KNOWING that he not only knew Jesus, but he REALLY lived like Him. Is it important to "Be Real" about this personal relationship with Jesus stuff? Without it, all the doctrinal problems in the next twelve chapters were meaningless.