Followers of Me

The Tree

Paul makes a bold claim here, inviting others to follow his own example, but he immediately qualifies it: even as I also am of Christ. His own life is worth imitating specifically because it is itself imitating Christ, not an independent standard but a derivative one, pointing beyond himself toward the actual pattern he is following.

This offers a needed model for your own influence as a parent. Children genuinely do follow the pattern they see in you, far more than the instructions you merely speak. This is not avoidable and should not be resented as unfair pressure. It is simply how formation actually works, modeled example carrying more weight than spoken instruction alone.

The qualification Paul adds matters enormously. Your own example is worth your children following specifically to the degree that it is itself following Christ. This removes the pressure of needing to be a flawless, independent standard, while placing genuine weight on the actual question of whether your own visible life is following him.

Ask today honestly what your children are actually learning to imitate by watching you, not what you intend to teach them, but what your actual, visible pattern of life is modeling. Then ask whether that pattern is itself genuinely following Christ, worth their imitation because it points beyond you toward him.