“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ”
– 1 Corinthians 11:1 –
Look at how this chapter begins: telling us to be imitators of him… because he is an imitator of Christ? No, it is not pride that drives him. Paul wants us all to imitate him in his imitation of Christ. This is also my duty, because others are watching me.
The apostle then mentions what should be the place of the woman in the church. He deals with some cultural issues, but the principle is clear:
“Neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man,
in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also
comes through woman; but all things are from God” (vv. 11, 12).
The fact is that man and woman are creatures, and God is the Creator.
Paul reminds us that we should celebrate the Lord’s Supper with responsibility and awareness. Beware of playing around with serious things! The Lord’s Supper is a moment of intense personal reflection, for the symbols of which we participate are directly related tothe body of Christ and to His sacrifice and His death.
Two great lessons are highlighted in chapter 11:
- We are representatives of Christ.
- Men and women have different roles, but that does not make the superior or inferior to each other.
The roadrunner is one of the most interesting birds. It is given this name because it prefers to run rather than fly. It will fly if you lock one up and it does not have another way to escape; but as soon as possible, it will run as quickly as its feet allow. It is perhaps the best-known running bird, and can reach a speed of twenty miles per hour – even more when it chases fast lizards or elusive prey.
These fast birds live in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The roadrunner lives with its “wife” all its life, and it is said that this running bird is a wonderful Christian, because wherever it runs it leaves the cross of Christ imprinted on the ground due to the outline of its toes.
“We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20),
“Christ’s representatives upon the earth.
How do we fulfill our mission?”
“We are the Bibles the world is reading…
we are the sermons the world is heeding” (Billy Graham).
Even a simple roadrunner illustrates the need to live faithfully,
leaving the marks of the cross at every step.
May God’s mercy be upon your life…