The men of my church recently got together for two hours on a Wednesday evening, and then the women did the same the next Wednesday. On both occasions, part of the meeting involved watching a video of someone giving a biographical sketch. I was given the task of introducing the videos for both meetings, and I also included a few thoughts concerning what the Bible says about observing and learning from and even being inspired by other followers of Christ. Here’s a portion of what I communicated.
First, there is a word (mimētēs) translated “imitator” 6 times in the ESV. One very helpful example is when Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). So here is a person other than Jesus who is worth imitating, but only as he is emulating Christ. Perhaps I am only stating the obvious, but Christlike people are worthy of modeling our lives after.
And then, second, the word “imitator” has a verbal form (mimeomai) that occurs four times in the New Testament and is always translated “imitate” in the ESV. The first appearance is in Second Thessalonians 3:7 when Paul says to the Thessalonians, “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you.” And then, just two verses later, he explains to the Thessalonians how he and his team were “an example to imitate” (v. 9). So Paul is not only saying that he was a model for the Thessalonians, but so also were his ministry partners (Silas and Timothy, 1:1).
The next appearance of “imitate” is 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.” I have often heard this verse as the main verse in the Bible that encourages the reading of biographies. However, notice that the writer of Hebrews is not first of all talking about believers whom these people never knew, but their leaders in the church who taught them the truth and whom they witnessed remain faithful all the way to the end of their lives (“outcome” points to what results at the end of a life). Reflecting deeply on the faithfulness of these men who finished the race well would inspire them to do likewise. Though this is not first of all about being inspired by biographies, it is worth noting from this verse that dead believers sometimes have something to communicate to the living.
The final appearance of “imitate” is Third John 11, “Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate [not in Greek text] good.” Without getting into the particulars of Third John, the evil (person) whom Gaius, the recipient of this letter, was not to imitate was Diotrephes, a proud man who rejected apostolic authority, was not hospitable to faithful missionaries, and who kept others from welcoming these traveling preachers and removed people from the church who tried (vv. 9-10). It is possible that the good (person) Gaius was to imitate was Demetrius (v. 12), but it’s more likely that he was coming from John (the author) to Gaius and was an opportunity for Gaius to do good. The bigger point to see here is that, once again, there are individuals who are (and are not) worthy of imitation.
Lastly, in thinking about the appropriateness of being inspired by other followers of Christ, I highlighted for the ladies of my church Philippians 3:17, which uses a related word to the words above (summimētēs): “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” What is critical about this text is it falls within the letter to the Philippians which has at its center the classic passage about the humility of Jesus who is the believers supreme example (2:5-11). But there are others who share in this Christlike pattern of thinking and living who are worthy of emulating, including Paul, Timothy and Ephaphroditus (see 2:19-30), and, according to Philippians 3:17, other believers “who walk according to the example you have in us.”
All of this biblical data makes me conclude, “It’s not only allowable, but often critical, to be inspired by followers of Christ, both living and dead.” This certainly will mean those whom we interact with in the present, or those whom we have known in the past who are now with the Lord, but a reasonable deduction is that we might also be helped by the example of those we never knew personally.
Recommendations
Here, then, are a few recommendations of biographies and autobiographies. There are numerous “recommended biography” lists out there, but that is not quite what I am giving below. Instead, these are just a few books (and one other resource) about individuals who have especially inspired me.
*George Muller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer
When I first moved to Kansas City, Missouri, I quickly began serving with a ministry called Christian Communicators Worldwide (CCW), led by Jim Elliff who has been influenced significantly by Muller. CCW has even followed Muller’s pattern of never making any needs known to anyone but God. You need to read about this man of faith who, along with pastoring, believed he saw over 50,000 answers to prayer in his lifetime as he and his team provided for 10,024 orphans in total. Your confidence in the care and power of God will only increase, perhaps dramatically.
*L’Abri by Edith Schaeffer
Schaeffer tells the story about coming to Switzerland with her husband, Francis, and moving into a chalet and then welcoming people from all around the world who would come with questions about the meaning of life and spiritual matters. Similar to Muller’s story, there are wonderful stories about God’s timely provision as they housed people and ministered to individuals even as they dealt with their own personal burdens. When I first read this at Pam Elliff’s recommendation (Jim Elliff’s wife), I was both fascinated with the story and reminded again and again of God’s faithfulness.
*Mountain Rain: A New Biography of James O. Fraser by Eileen Crossman
Crossman, the daughter of James Fraser, tells the fascinating story of her father who was a missionary to the Lisu people in China. What struck me the most about this flawed man was how vital he considered the prayers of God’s people who sent him out (similar to the apostle Paul; see Colossians 4:3-4 as one example). He had a mother who was his biggest supporter in that way, and it is a moving and motivating story to read.
*Wrestling with An Angel: A Story of Love, Disability and the Lessons of Grace by Greg Lucas
God gave Greg Lucas an autistic son and an amazing ability to write about it and teach profound biblical truths related to it. I have a daughter with special needs (Williams Syndrome), so this was and is such a helpful book for me. This is the first book I recommend to parents with a child with an intellectual disability (or disabilities). However, every believer will benefit from reading this book. It’s difficult to put into words what a wonderful writer and storyteller Lucas is. I not only recommend that you read this personally, but read it with your spouse and your older kids who are still at home.
*Biographical sketches by John Piper
Starting in 1988, John Piper began giving biographical sketches at his ministry’s annual conference for pastors. They are all collected now into a single book, but individual presentations (audio and/or video, with text) are available at desiringgod.org. I have been inspired as a believer by these in a number of ways, including to stop wasting time on trivial things. If you are going on a road trip, you might benefit from listening to one of these as a family. Here are Piper’s own words as to how biographies help him:
“Biographies have served as much as any other force in my life to resist the inertia of mediocrity. . . . When you are surrounded by a society of emotionally fragile quitters, and when you see a good bit of this ethos in yourself, you need to spend time with people — whether dead or alive — whose lives prove there is another way to live. . . . Few things inspire me to live radically for Christ more than the story of those who did.” [1]
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[1] Cited by Justin Taylor, “Why and How John Piper Does Biography,” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/why-and-how-john-piper-does-biography/, accessed August 15, 2024.