The Christian living is not an easy one. While Jesus promises to be everything we need, He also tells that those who follow Him should expect persecution (John 15:18-21). Surely we need much encouragement to take this way.
Furthermore, the Christian living is a mysterious one. It's not completely clear what we will become if we continue down this path. What does it look like to be someone who loves the Lord with all his or her heart, soul, mind, and strength? Who will I become if I give all to Jesus?
The answer to these questions is closer than we may think. We can find both encouragement for going on and a clear picture concerning the Christian living from the patterns all around us.
Furthermore, the Christian living is a mysterious one. It's not completely clear what we will become if we continue down this path. What does it look like to be someone who loves the Lord with all his or her heart, soul, mind, and strength? Who will I become if I give all to Jesus?
The answer to these questions is closer than we may think. We can find both encouragement for going on and a clear picture concerning the Christian living from the patterns all around us.
A pattern, as I mean it, is a person who has gone a certain way whom we can learn from and emulate if we want to go down that same path. They are, to use a more common term, "role models." Among every group of Christians, certain believers have progressed further and have become more experienced in certain areas. These ones are the patterns that inspire the others to also progress as they have and experience the things that they have. They're not always leaders; sometimes they're the quiet ones who pray or serve in a hidden way. These ones are arguably the most important patterns. Lastly, patterns can also come from the past. One can learn much from reading biographies of notable Christians like D. L. Moody, Watchman Nee, and C. S. Lewis. And to be sure, patterns can unfortunately be negative, causing the ones who emulate them to continue in their errors, so be discerning in who you learn from and imitate.
The importance of having positive patterns in the Christian living was not lost on the Apostle Paul. He considered himself and the leading brothers who were with him to be patterns to the believers. He even urged the young Thessalonian believers to freshly remember the pattern he and those with him had set:
For you yourselves know, brothers, our entrance toward you... You are witnesses, as well as God, how in a holy and righteous manner we conducted ourselves toward you who believe.
-1 Thes. 2:1-12
He also felt that Jesus had used him as a pattern of the long-suffering attribute in the life of God:
... in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life.
-1 Tim. 1:16
He even exhorted the Corinthian believers twice to imitate him (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1) and told the Philippian believers:
Be imitators together of me, brothers, and observe those who thus walk even as you have us as a pattern.
-Phil. 3:17
In my recent experience, the Lord has been touching me concerning the matter of being wholely consecrated or "sold out" for Him. If I only give Him part of my heart, then He will only give me a small fraction of Himself. But if I give Him all of my heart, He will give me all of Himself. It's not primarily a matter of what I would do outwardly with my time; i.e. it doesn't mean that I would quit school or work and move into a monastary. It is a matter of my heart, my goal, and my daily walk. But what does it look like to be such a person?
I recently heard two testimonies of believers whose lives were radically captured by the Lord. As a result, their entire being was occupied Him. Although they were both going to school at the time, Jesus had the first place in their hearts and they were filled to the brim with His joy. As a result, they couldn't help but speak about Him to their classmates and people all around were being saved and being shepherded into a normal, healthy Christian living. This kind of experience is normal to someone who has given their all to Christ.
How do I know that my personal experience lacks and that there is a deeper, fuller, and richer life available to me? Because these two believers have become my patterns.
I recently heard two testimonies of believers whose lives were radically captured by the Lord. As a result, their entire being was occupied Him. Although they were both going to school at the time, Jesus had the first place in their hearts and they were filled to the brim with His joy. As a result, they couldn't help but speak about Him to their classmates and people all around were being saved and being shepherded into a normal, healthy Christian living. This kind of experience is normal to someone who has given their all to Christ.
How do I know that my personal experience lacks and that there is a deeper, fuller, and richer life available to me? Because these two believers have become my patterns.