“Follow Me,” Jesus said. Paul would later write, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” he told the church at Corinth, “I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (Mark 1:17; 1 Corinthians 11:1, 4:15-16). But following and imitating Jesus would come at a cost. Jesus Himself challenged His disciples with these words: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). These days, such verses are often dismissed......

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