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PRACTICE A TOV EXAMPLE

GOOD LEADERS ARE WORTHY OF IMITATING ONLY WHEN THEY LOOK LIKE JESUS.

God taught Israel to learn by emulation. Emulation is how Jesus learned from his parents, it is how Paul learned from his parents, and it is how everyone learned in the ancient world. And Jesus’ disciples followed him, which also means they watched and listened to him; they were instructed by him, they did what he said, and they did what he did. Then Jesus sent them out to do what he did so others could follow and emulate him too.

We have always learned more by emulating than by gaining information.

You and I are also called as Christians to emulate Jesus. Like the disciples, we are called to do what he did and say what he would say. We are called to consider Jesus and how he interacted with others: his life, his behavior, his relationships, his parables, his astounding works, and his love and compassion, as well as his trial, his death, his resurrection, his ascension.

And what happens when a person, a life, emulates Christ? The more time you spend with someone, the more you will begin to become like them. Time with Jesus leads to emulation of Christ which leads to character formation and transformation. It leads to the formation of Christlike, tov people who are empathetic, grace-filled, truth-telling, and justice-driven.

And here we want to return to what we said about character on day one of this study. Maybe you are reading this because you desire some type of transformation in your personal life or in your church’s life. Please hear this: Character matters more than any ideas or techniques or strategy you could possibly implement at work or at home. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote of the church, that it “gains weight and power not through concepts but by example.” Who you are matters more than anything you could ever do or say. Who you choose to be like matters most.

The church is only fully the church when it lives in the way of Jesus; through emulation of the Master himself, the church is transformed. Emulation is not just personal, but also a community vision. The greatest cultural transformation occurs when a band of Christians begins to walk in the way of Jesus so well that other people see Jesus in how the community of faith lives.

It all begins with each of us increasingly becoming an example worthy of emulation because emulation leads to transformation. Ask yourself: If it’s true that “transformation will happen only through emulation,” what might need to change in my life? And who do I want to be like?

For further reflection:

Consider the Bible’s original instruction for education, Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Carefully read these verses and list ten things you learn about the importance of your own example.