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All this to say: Perhaps Jesus never intended his disciples to slavishly imitate him. Notice that he never uses the idea himself. All he says is "Follow me." Paul often employs the idea of imitation (e.g., in 1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; 1 Thess. 1:6) to call his readers to deeper discipleship. But the context is always about living by overarching Christian principles, not slavishly copying what Paul or Jesus did.

As he lay dying, Francis of Assisi said to his followers, "I have done what is mine; may Christ teach you what is yours." That's all Jesus asks of any of us—not to ape him, but to do what he calls us to do. That means some of us will be called to live in the desert, others in castles; some will fight just wars, others will wage peace; some will itinerate, others will settle down; some will marry, others will remain single. In short, disciples are not called to live Jesus' life—only he was responsible for doing that. Instead, we are to do what the Spirit of Christ teaches us is ours to do.

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A ready-to-download Bible Study on this article is available at ChristianBibleStudies.com. These unique Bible studies use articles from current issues of Christianity Today to prompt thought-provoking discussions in adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

What Would Jesus Eat? and The Imitation of Christare available at Christianbook.com.

The WWJD movement even has an official website.

Previous Long View columns include:

The Virtue of UnoriginalityThe old kind of Christian is the best hope for church renewal. (April 4, 2002)

Wielding the SwordEarly believers were not as troubled as we are by the use of force. (Feb. 20, 2002)

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July 8 2002, Vol. 46, No. 8