Everything's Possible - Day 25

Philippians 3:17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.

Does it sound arrogant for Paul to tell people to follow his example? He wants them to pattern their lives after his. I think if we heard a pastor or a preacher say this, we would be concerned. Should we be concerned that Paul throws this out like it is conventional wisdom? 

Paul does this in other places as well (1 Corinthians 4:16; Gal 4:12), and he is sure that there are others the Philippian church should follow: Christ, Timothy, and Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:5, 22, 25, 29), as we discussed before. Paul thought of a few as having been consistent in their journey of faith and having arrived at a relatively mature expression of their faith. Therefore, when he sensed this, he would put them up as examples of Christian living. He himself is one of those examples, and he has proven again and again that his faith was something that carried him through difficult times, trials, and tribulations. He suffered greatly for the gospel. In fact, these are all the things that he had been through:

2 Corinthians 11:25-30: Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

Paul was not joking around. There was much he had to carry for the gospel, and only those who were mature in their faith could do this and still rejoice in the Lord always! 

1. How has your faith maturity allowed you to transcend your situation? 
2. Have you suffered for Christ? What did that look like? 
3. How can you also be a model of Christian living?