“Do you want to know what it is to follow Christ? Then follow me.”

Have you ever said that to anyone? It may sound like a bold claim—perhaps even an arrogant claim. But the scriptures clearly teach us the importance of living our lives in such a way that others can follow our example. (See this cute 4-minute video)

Consider these scriptures.

1 Corinthians 4:16
I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Philippians 3:17
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

1 Thessalonians 1:6
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,

1 Thessalonians 2:14
For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,

2 Thessalonians 3:7
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,

2 Thessalonians 3:9
It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

Hebrews 6:12
so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 13:7
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

3 John 11
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

In these passages, the authors (i.e., Paul, John, and the author of Hebrews) express the importance, even the necessity, of imitating the faith of others. This is how the faith is delivered from one generation to the next. This is how disciples are made.

It’s not enough to tell someone what to do. That’s a good place to start, but we also need to show them what to do.

I like to work around the house and on my car. When I don’t have experience fixing a particular problem, I’ll often “YouTube” a video to see how to fix the problem. After watching the video, I will imitate the person in the video.

If “YouTube” is helpful for fixing a leaking toilet, how much more should imitation be helpful for walking obediently with Christ! How much more should we be making disciples by giving others an example to imitate.

Let me leave you with these two questions.

Are you living your life in such a way that you can encourage others to imitate your faith as you follow Christ? This doesn’t mean that you need to be perfect, but are you trying to walk in obedience to Christ?

Are you watching others and imitating their faithful obedience? Are you following the example of men and women who faithfully following Christ?

When I was a teenager, I didn’t like yardwork. I lived in South Carolina where the summers were always hot and my parents had a very large yard. It wasn’t that the yardwork all that bad. My dad had a riding mower so it didn’t take long to mow the grass, but I still didn’t like it. It was a never-ending pattern. I would mow the grass and then, like clockwork, 5-days later it was time to mow again.

One of the things that led to my teenage frustration, however, was this. I lacked perspective. I wanted immediate satisfaction, and I “couldn’t get no satisfaction” from yardwork (my apologies to Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones). I found my satisfaction in doing other things. There were other things in my life that provided me with immediate, positive feedback. Yardwork, at the time, wasn’t one of them.

Now, decades later, I’m faced with a similar frustration. As a Christian, I know that I’m called to make disciples, and making disciples can be tremendously rewarding. But it’s a slow process that doesn’t always provide immediate gratification. Now, decades later, I find that yardwork provides me with the immediate gratification for which I long. Let me explain.

When I go out into my yard with my lawnmower, weed-eater, and hedge-trimmers, if I work hard for two- or three-hours, when I finish, my yard will provide me with immediate, positive feedback. Earlier in the day the lawn was long and unkempt. Now, the lawn has a uniformed height. Earlier, I couldn’t tell where the lawn ended and my sidewalk began. Now, my lawn and my sidewalks have a nice, crisp edge. Earlier, my hedges were overgrown, now, they’re neatly trimmed. In just a few hours, my lawn has undergone a complete transformation.

But making disciples isn’t like caring for your lawn. You control many of the variables in caring for your lawn. You know when to water, when to apply the fertilizer, when to mow, etc. There’s a formula for mowing the grass. If you follow that formula, depending on the size of your yard, in just a few hours you will have a beautifully manicured yard.

Well, there’s a “formula” for disciple making as well, but in this formula, you don’t control the most important variables. The formula for disciple making involves people, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. Of those three variables, the only one that we control is the Word of God, and we only “control” it in the sense that we can read it and study it and apply it to our lives.

The formula for disciple making doesn’t prescribe an “amount” of the Word of God to apply into someone’s life before Christlike transformation begins to take place. The formula for disciple making is dependent both on the person and on the work of the Holy Spirit.

But allow me to state the obvious. Making disciples is infinitely more important that lawn care! Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20). In his final letter, Paul urged young Timothy to be patient in the work of disciple making. He said, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2; emphasis added).

So, if you need some immediate gratification, if you need some immediate satisfaction, grab your mower, your weed-eater, and your hedge-clippers, and get out in your yard and work hard for a few hours. But if you’re interested in eternal work, if you’re interested in eternal rewards, grab your Bible and grab a friend and give yourself to the work of making disciples.