Imitate Me...

"Imitate me, brothers and sisters, and look around to those already following the example we have set." Philippians 3:17

This is what Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Imitate me" ...or  "Follow my example."  As a little girl, I tried to imitate my dad a lot.  As I ate a fried jalapeno today at lunch, I told my sister-in-law that I guess my love for hot things began by imitating my dad.  He loved hot peppers and would put salsa on almost anything.  Because he loved it, I tried it.  I don't know if I loved it right away or if I grew to love it.  My dad liked boiled okra...I liked boiled okra.  My dad liked a tall glass with chocolate cake and milk...I liked a tall glass with chocolate cake and milk.  My dad liked fried peanuts...I liked fried peanuts.  Why did I imitate what he ate?  Because I loved my dad.  I wanted to be like him.

Paul was telling the Philippians how to live.  He was warning the believers that there were wicked workers who were trying to suck them back into living under the law.  But he was also telling them that he was sprinting after God and that nothing would stand in his way because God had grabbed him and wouldn't let go of him.  He was leaving his old life behind and following passionately after God.  And he said, "Imitate me."

Who is imitating you?  My dad had no idea I was imitating him...but I was.  We may think no one is imitating us...but they are. Where are we going?  And where are we taking them?