3. Every one is very willing to be a servant of Christ; but no one will consent to be His follower. And yet He says: “If any man serve me, let him follow me.” John 12:26. Hence, he who truly serves and loves Christ, will also follow him; and he who loves Christ, will also love the example of His holy life, His humility, meekness, patience, as well as the cross, shame, and contempt which He endured, although the flesh may thereby suffer pain. And although we cannot, in our present weakness, perfectly imitate the holy and exalted life of Christ (which, indeed, is not intended in my Book), nevertheless, we ought to love it, and long to imitate it more fully; for thus we live in Christ, and Christ lives in us, according to the words of St. John: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6. It is now the disposition of the world to acquire a knowledge of all things; but that which is better than all other knowledge, namely, “to know the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:19), no one desires to acquire. But no man can love Christ, who does not imitate his holy life. There are many—a majority, indeed, of men in this world—who are ashamed of the holy example of Christ, namely, of his humility and lowly condition; that is, they are ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ; of them he says: “Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed,” etc. Mark 8:38. Christians now desire a Christ of imposing appearance, who is magnificent, rich, and conformed to the world; but no one desires to receive, to confess, and to follow the poor, meek, despised, and lowly Christ. He will, therefore, hereafter say: “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23); ye were not willing to know me in my humility, and therefore I do not know you in your pride.