THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Romans 8:29
Perhaps nothing in the world is a surer sign of littleness than a slavish imitation of any man. Men lose that which is an honor to them—individuality—and then, they lose that which is a power to them—originality—the moment they commence walking in another man’s shoes. When one painter slavishly copies another, he is only known as the satellite of the greater luminary; he himself is neither respectable nor respected.
But this is not the case when men select models which are confessed to be perfect. You never hear a man accused of lack of originality because he studies the models in sculpture of ancient Greece. It is not usual to hear the accusation of imitation brought against painters who have studiously examined the works of Michelangelo or of Raphael. These men are put at the head of their respective schools and the following of these masters of the art is voted to be no folly, but true wisdom. ‘Tis even so with the imitation of Christ. To imitate other men is weakness; to copy Christ is strength.
Christ is the perfect type of manhood. He who should imitate Him the most nearly, would be the most original man upon earth! It may seem a paradox, but it is one which, nevertheless, needs only to be tried to be proved; no man will be looked upon as so strange, so singular a being among his fellows, as a man who shall nearest approach to the image of the Lord Jesus! He imitates, we grant you; he copies, we confess it; but he is himself, despite his copying, an original to other men, and he stands out from the common herd as being a distinguished and celebrated individual—he will be “known and read of all men.”
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Romans 8:29
Perhaps nothing in the world is a surer sign of littleness than a slavish imitation of any man. Men lose that which is an honor to them—individuality—and then, they lose that which is a power to them—originality—the moment they commence walking in another man’s shoes. When one painter slavishly copies another, he is only known as the satellite of the greater luminary; he himself is neither respectable nor respected.
But this is not the case when men select models which are confessed to be perfect. You never hear a man accused of lack of originality because he studies the models in sculpture of ancient Greece. It is not usual to hear the accusation of imitation brought against painters who have studiously examined the works of Michelangelo or of Raphael. These men are put at the head of their respective schools and the following of these masters of the art is voted to be no folly, but true wisdom. ‘Tis even so with the imitation of Christ. To imitate other men is weakness; to copy Christ is strength.
Christ is the perfect type of manhood. He who should imitate Him the most nearly, would be the most original man upon earth! It may seem a paradox, but it is one which, nevertheless, needs only to be tried to be proved; no man will be looked upon as so strange, so singular a being among his fellows, as a man who shall nearest approach to the image of the Lord Jesus! He imitates, we grant you; he copies, we confess it; but he is himself, despite his copying, an original to other men, and he stands out from the common herd as being a distinguished and celebrated individual—he will be “known and read of all men.”
“Portraits of Christ,” The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 355 (1861)
