Who are You Imitating and Who Is Imitating You?

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 1 Cor 11:1.

I love reading my bible!  I love hearing God speak to me in other ways but this is the primary and most certain way to receive a word from the Lord!  And I did not have to get far today as this verse was the first I read today.  Paul makes reference to imitating him six times in his writings.  God has ordained that an ordinary means of grace in our lives is by imitating others, as imperfect as they are, as they follow Christ.  
The mission of the church is to make disciples and that happens best in a relational context.  Jesus himself modeled this when he called his disciples to follow him meant being with him (Mark 3:14) and following him was the means of life transformation (Mat 4:19).  
So I asked myself as I was arrested by the very first verse I read this morning, "Am I leading a life worth following?"  Not in a manner in which am I meeting a certain standard, but rather, is my life reflecting a gospel centered and gospel saturated life?  Do I see my salvation as a self help program or do I continually turn to Christ to bring forth life and moral transformation in my life!  The Christian life starts and ends with grace, period.  As we are on this journey together, let us point each other to Christ and his great work on our behalf, not just for our salvation but also for our sanctification and perseverance!  Sounds like a short sermon series is bubbling up!