Christian, did you know that even today, in our modern world, you don’t have to travel very far to find former idolaters? That’s right, even here in Kentucky in the 21st century, you don’t have to travel around the world to find people who were once worshippers of idols. You don’t have to go to the humid jungles of South America or to the arid plains of sub-Sahara Africa. Nope, all you have to do to see a former idol-worshipper is to get up and go take a look in the nearest mirror. Staring back at you, you’ll see someone redeemed from a life of vain idol worship.

The truth is that we worship that which we most highly regard. And before we acknowledged Christ as our Lord and Savior, we regarded ourselves most highly. We were a god unto ourselves. We sat on the throne of our hearts and lived for our own glory, comfort, pleasure, and pride. But now that Christ is our Lord, all that has changed. We no longer regard ourselves most highly; we regard Christ most highly. He is our God. He sits on the throne of our hearts and we live for his glory, honor, and praise. We once worshipped the idol of self, but Christ has saved us from that vain idol worship. In ancient times, idolatry often took more obvious forms (like sacrifices to wooden or stone figures, etc.) but it had at its root the same issue: the worship that rightfully belongs to God was wrongly given to a created object or being.

Listen to what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10). Like these Christians Paul wrote to, we have turned from idols (the idol of self) to serve the living and true God.

No doubt when these Christians became followers of Christ, they made a clean break with their former ways of idolatry. But turning away from the idol of self is more challenging in some respects. You can throw a physical idol out of your house and never see it again, but every day of our lives, the idol of self is trying to reassert itself into our lives, trying to drag us back into our old ways of living for self instead of living for God. So this week, put to death the old idols of self-promotion, self-glory, and self-serving; turn away from these things and give all your worship and attention and devotion to the Lord.

Children naturally imitate their parents; it’s what they do. Whether it’s pushing a toy mower behind daddy while he mows the grass, or baking mud “pies” in the backyard because they see mama hard at work on something delicious in the kitchen, children inevitably pattern their behaviors to a large degree based on what they observe in their father and mother. Personally, it feels a little intimidating knowing that soon, there will be little eyes watching me. I know that when my children or others look at me, they will not see a perfect example. And that is exactly why it is so important that we all look to the One who is the perfect example—our Lord Jesus Christ. Your spouse, your children, your parents, your roommate, your classmates—they may not see a perfect example in you when they look at your life, but they can see an example of someone who is following the perfect example.

Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” When other churches heard about the faithfulness of the Christians in Thessalonica, it wasn’t a perfect example they saw, but it was an example of Christians who were following the One who is Perfect. The point is this: we are called to be imitators of Christ. But if you put all your value and expectations in being a perfect imitator of Christ with the understanding (either voiced or unvoiced) that you have to do this in order to impress, appease, or satisfy God, you are getting off on the wrong foot. God does not call us to be imitators of Christ in order to attain an acceptable status in his eyes. He calls us to be imitators of Christ because as those who have put our faith in Jesus Christ and in his righteousness (not ours), it is right and fitting that we draw near to our Lord and let him change us from the inside out so that our lives bring glory to God.

So are you an imitator of God? If you want to imitate a master painter, you have to spend hours watching him work and trying your hand at reproducing the lighting and blending of the colors that he makes look so natural. If you want to imitate a master violinist, you have to spend hours practicing the instrument, accepting corrections and constantly pushing on through endless mistakes. If you want to imitate the heavenly Master, you have to spend hours with him in the pages of Scripture, listening to him teach, witnessing his mercy and compassion, and holding your breath while he performs seemingly impossible miracles. Let’s follow in Jesus’ footsteps by doing God’s will, because as children of God, we imitate our Father; it’s what we do.

We are all familiar with the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13—“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” But did you know that this is not the only time Paul grouped these three virtues together like this in one verse? He speaks of the same three virtues in another place in his letters, and he says something about them that is very instructive for us today. When Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in the newly established church in the city of Thessalonica, he told them that he was always giving thanks to God for them and that he was constantly mentioning them in his prayers. What was it that prompted Paul to constantly give thanks for them and to remember them in his prayers? His own words were: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice what it is that Paul remembers: their work of faith, their labor or love, and their steadfastness of hope. Practicing and embodying these virtues is not easy: it calls for work, labor, and steadfastness.

When Paul recalled their faith, it was not mere mental agreement that he remembered. He remembered their work of faith. Their faith led them to action. Biblical faith cannot be limited to ‘head knowledge.’ The evidence of faith is in the action that springs from it. And what that action looks like is submission and obedience to the word of God. The path of the Master requires trust and diligence; it truly is a work of faith. Paul also remembered their labor of love. Hollywood has convinced us that true love is supposed to be the easiest thing in the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Loving another person in a godly way is one of the hardest things! Yet that is exactly what we are called to as Christians, for Jesus commanded us to love one another as he loved us (John 15:12). The Christian life is not easy; it truly is a labor of love. Finally, Paul remembered the Thessalonians’ steadfastness of hope in Jesus. When life is good it is easy to say we are trusting in the promises of God, but when things are tough, it is difficult to remain steadfast in that hope. Since the Christian life is more like a marathon than a 100-meter sprint, God calls us to faithfulness and endurance throughout a lifetime. The way of discipleship is not always easy; it truly calls for a steadfastness of hope.

If Paul knew you, would he remember your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope? This week, remember to translate faith into action, to labor at showing love, and to anchor your life in the unchanging hope that is in Christ. 

I’ve seen it dozens of times and it always perplexes me. A murder of crows is often seen mobbing a hawk in the sky. Like raucous bullies harassing a dignified and composed gentleman, the noisy crows screech and divebomb the hawk, yet I have never seen the hawk attempt to strike back. Just the other day I was watching three crows badgering a hawk, perplexed by the apparent lack of retaliation on the part of the hawk. Hawks are more predatorial than crows (who are scavengers, not predators) and have a sharper beak and sharp talons, so I have always assumed that it wouldn’t even be a fair fight. To me, it looked like the hawk was exercising lots of self-control in sparing his attackers the pain he could inflict if he wanted to. To the casual observer, it looks like the picture of strength under control. 

This kind of strength under control—often called meekness—is a Christian virtue. Meekness is not the absence of strength (that is, it is not simply weakness); rather it is the possession of strength that is restrained by wisdom and used in the right ways at the right times. Meekness does not imply inability but it requires great self-restraint. A person who is meek does not use his strength for selfish gain or retaliation but only uses his strength for righteous purposes and goals. Meekness could look like refusing to use your platform to lash out at a personal rival. It could also look like refraining from publicly humiliating a co-worker for her mistake, even when you really want to “get even” with her for something she did to you. As I watched the hawk, I thought that he was showing meekness by not using his power to lash out at the crows.

But it turns out, there is a little more going on with the hawk and the crows. Hawks do have a superior beak and talons, but crows often have better maneuverability, making it tiring for the hawk to attack the crows. Plus, crows always attack in a group, outnumbering the hawk and deterring attacks in return. Apparently, hawks just don’t think it’s worth it to try to fight back. It’s easier just to move on and leave the crows to themselves. So, hawks may not be a good example of meekness after all, but there is Someone who is the perfect example of true meekness. He has all power and authority (Matt. 11:27), yet he is meek (also commonly translated gentle) and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:29). He proved this when he allowed himself to be arrested by the hands of sinful men, rushed through a mockery of a trial, and nailed to a wooden cross on a hill outside Jerusalem. He could have called ten thousand angels (Matt. 26:53) to rescue him and wipe every sinner off the face of the planet, but he died on that cross for you and me. That is strength under control.