Be like me?

In one of our meeting times at Kevyn and Cheryl's about a week and a half ago, Shari's dad and mom were with us. We were a little nervous because of her dad being a pastor and we are reading the "So you don't want to go to church anymore" book. In the middle of the discussion, Kevyn asked Shari's dad what he was thinking. He told us about how, when he was younger, he had put certain people up on a pedestal. He explained how he learned people would all fail and we needed to focus on Jesus and how this helped him learn the value of grace. I was curious how he prevents others from viewing him in way he had viewed others. His answer was that in Philippians, Paul says (I'm paraphrasing a bit), "Be like me as I am like Jesus." I have always heard this passage taught in order to "inspire" (a better word is actually guilt) us to behave ourselves. It was taught to me that if we want others to be like us, we should be essentially blameless. To me, this interpretation supports building a perception of godliness, not a true desire to follow Jesus. However, Shari's dad explained that Paul was saying that people should follow his example in repentance as well. This meant that Paul lived a life that was transparent. He allowed people to see him fail and repent. It was an inspiring way to read that verse. It was totally opposite of the way I had learned the verse. I was encouraged that Paul was really telling people to live as a family and to love each other through success, failure and everything in between. Even now it seems a bit weird to say to someone "Be like me". But if we are following Christ, He gives us the freedom to say that because we are really saying "Follow Christ."