The Apostle Paul understood the power of a good example. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” he frequently said (I Corinthians 11:1, cf. 4:16, Philippians 3:17). It is one thing to hear about who Jesus is and what He taught. It is another to see it lived out by those around you.
We learn best by seeing someone like us both hearing and doing the word. That is why Paul worked night and day to self-support his ministry to the Thessalonians, not because he had to “but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate” (II Thessalonians 3:9). Example is so powerful that Paul preferred to go without rather than risk losing it. “For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting” (I Corinthians 9:15).
As Paul mentored others, he urged them to guard their examples. He told Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (I Timothy 4:12). To Titus he said, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:7-8). The message clearly took hold, as even the Hebrews writer (a co-worker of Timothy) said: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7, 23).
A Christ-like example tends to spread. After becoming “imitators of us and of the Lord”, the Thessalonians became “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” as they “received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (I Thessalonians 1:6-7). When fundraising for the poor Christians in Jerusalem, Paul used the Corinthians’ zeal and the Macedonians’ generosity to motivate one another (II Corinthians 8:1-8, 9:1-5).
“Do as I say, not as I do” does not work in parenting. It works even less in following Jesus. Christians must guard our example; but even more, we must use it! As much value as there is in telling someone what God says, there is even more in showing them. To grow in our faith, we need to seek out Christ-like examples to imitate and to become that for others.