¹⁵ “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

Modeling is big in Christianity. Not the showing of fashions, but the emulation of behavior and attitudes. Our primary example is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, yet there are times when Paul invites others to follow his example as well. Some might be tempted to think this takes away from patterning our lives after Christ and redirects us to follow a mere human. But Paul takes seriously the Lord’s teaching on this matter. He modeled his life after Christ, precisely when he invited people to model their lives after him. Listen to how he phrases it, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1, see also 1 Cor 4:16, Phil 4:9). In fact, he tells the Christians in Philippi to follow the example of “those who walk according to the pattern you have in us” (Phil 3:17). Further, Paul presents himself to the Ephesian elders as an example of shepherding God’s people (Acts 20:13-38).

Christians often stumble on a false sense of humility when thinking about this. “It is presumptuous for anyone besides Jesus and Paul to say, ‘Follow my example’ ” However, we must take modeling seriously and soberly as a core responsibility of the Christian life. When a parent teaches a child how to tie a shoe, the parent will say, “Here, watch me do it, then you try.” There is no sense of pride or presumption in that. It is simply the parent sacrificing time in order to responsibly show another human being (the child) a basic skill of life. We Christians, likewise, sacrifice our time and energies to help other Christians through our service of modeling servanthood to them.

Now, “being” a model is not the ultimate goal of our lives. Rather, it is the ministry of servanthood multiplication, if we might call it that. Jesus, in the upper room, is training the twelve to be servanthood multipliers. He wants them to not only serve one another, but to be models of serving. To do as Jesus did to them was more than just becoming humble enough to serve one another. It includes an intentional way of life that consciously spurs others on to similar acts of servanthood. Like the writer of Hebrews says, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds…” (Heb 10:24). This is not Pharisaical, superficial, self-centered good deeds done for show, but rather lifts our serving to another level. There, like Jesus, we serve others sacrificially, but also spur them on to serve others, who will in turn serve others. Is this not simply another form of teaching similar to 2 Tim 2:2?

When serving, bring along one or more to serve with you. After serving someone, you might even say, “As I have served you, so also serve others.”

Lord, help me be a servant who helps multiply the company of servants.