1 Corinthians 4.16 commands the Corinthians to imitate Paul.

Most Christians would find it arrogant for someone to say to them, ‘as far as Christianity is concerned, do what I do.’ We are both proud and independent and believe our personal relationship with Jesus Christ is unique, special and dissimilar to everyone else so we should not follow Christ as another one follows Him.

Yet the work of God in people is to conform each person into the image of Christ that He might be the First among many children.

The real truth is that most of us do a poor job imitating Jesus and would be embarrassed to have anyone live the Christian life in the same manner as we are doing. Even when in our own households it is almost unheard of for a father to tell his children to follow Christ even as he himself is following Him.

Discipleship is a process of imitation.

We are commanded to make disciples by teaching everyone to obey all the commands of Jesus. This obedience to all that Jesus commanded is where our similarity is to be found.

All people are unique and all Christians have various gifts for serving God but all Christians are children of God Who is working in us His likeness, the perfect appearance of Whom is Jesus, and it is into His image we are becoming conformed as we obey Him.

The imitation of Christ we are all to follow is the obedience to the Father He lived as seen in His acts of love, service, sacrifice and humility.

We would all be better Christians if we all made ourselves personally accountable to living as Jesus did so others would want to do the same.