I also believe that the best and truly only person we can chose to be wholesale effectively LIKE is the ONE PERSONALITY, INDIVIDUAL GOD MADE US TO BE. We may mimic John, Paul etc. in some respects but never fully.
. . .
I also have observed and experienced . . .
That OCCASIONALLY, while God may encourage us . . . like Paul to follow him AS HE FOLLOWED CHRIST . . . for a season of growth; overcoming a particular problem; learning a particular discipline; . . .
THAT ON THE WHOLE, AT SOME POINT, God will throw a very thorough and effective monkey wrench in the midst of:
1. anyone trying to conform some one else to person "A's" image.
2. anyone trying to conform themselves to anyone's image other than that of Jesus The Christ.
I've observed (and experienced) some of God's harshest rebukes in such matters.
God loves the you you are, not the you you aren't. About the only limitation I can confidently say there is in God's love is that He doesn't love what isn't.Early in my (official, collar-wearing) ministry I wanted more than anything to be a window. As time went by, I saw that at least in preaching I would have to settle for being an Icon. An Icon is very much there, but the faithful can see through it, and they see THROUGH it by looking AT it. A window you just look through.
We wouldn't say that Jesus had no personality, would we? It seems to me with the broad humor (Hey, YOU! You got a log in your eye!) and penetrating exchanges with people, you get the sense there was somebody there.
No disrespect to tenors, but this is why Bach was right to have Jesus sung by a Bass in The Matthew Passion.