Let’s play Follow the Leader.
Jesus wasn’t playing the child’s game of Follow the Leader when he called his disciples, but He did set the example of followership and leadership.
As a youngster, the game of Follow the Leader, was easy with little expectations. If the leader balanced himself as he walked along a curb, we followed. If the leader climbed over a fence…we did it too. If the leader hopped on one foot while spinning in circles…yep, we imitated his actions. We may not have gotten far in any one direction or accomplished much other than an occasional giggle but as long as it was something all of us could do….we followed the leader. Sometimes though, the leader made it especially tough on some of us smaller kids. Since I was always the smallest, it was an unspoken challenge to see if they could lose me. I knew it but I wanted to be included so I wouldn’t give up. The higher the fence or tree, I went up and over or up and down, but I followed. One thing I didn’t feel comfortable with was jumping moving trains, but I did it when it was barely moving, just to prove I could. In those days I played a lot in empty freight cars, but for the most part, they were standing still. What made me stretch my limitations? Easy…fear. In our younger years we do a lot without thinking of consequences but in this case, my desire to ‘belong’ was more powerful than the fear of getting hurt or not belonging.
I think that too often we take the course of Following Jesus too lighthearted and with a lack of good old fashioned respect. On the flip side we can be too careful and paint our God as ‘too safe’. We forget that life was given over to death in order to preserve us for everlasting life. You may say, ‘oh I could never take the death of Jesus for granted. He died for me!’ But are you in awe of what He did? Though Jesus is God, he still understood the physical and emotional pain he would endure to present us with an escape from Hell. His word guides us to a life of sacrifice as well. We may not have to give ourselves up to a physical cross but we are expected to be obedient to his word, which means we must accept the responsibilities.
It is true that God offered his Son Jesus, without strings attached. Jesus offered his life; we accept it or reject it. It is only after we have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ that we understand that there is more than just accepting salvation than reaching out and grabbing the gift.
An example: If I knew you collected angel figurines and I gave you a porcelain angel as a gift, you could just set that on the mantel or end table and have little to worry about. You may blow the dust off it once in a while – like many do to their Bibles, but other than that there isn’t much to taking care of that gift. It is yours to do with what you want…but…
If I gave you a puppy the whole picture changes doesn’t it? If you accepted the puppy as a gift you couldn’t just set it aside. There would be no strings attached to that gift. You loved dogs; I knew it and I wanted to make you happy so I gave you a precious gift. And in giving you that gift I have transferred the responsibility to you…and you have accepted it. You probably have had a pet at one time or another. You know the commitment it takes to care for any living thing…..accept for weeds, but that’s another story.
Well, picture the gift of salvation as something similar. There are no strings attached to His gift, but there are responsibilities that go along with it.
You might find yourself, for instance, a follower of Christ but not see yourself as a leader in his work. He may call on you to teach, or disciple, or preach, or pray, or use any one of the many gifts of mercies and love to help another. He may want you to come up alongside a child in the family of God who needs assurance and companionship or maybe just a small thoughtful act of kindness…but- as a Christian, you will find yourself in the position to serve and often to lead. You become a follower of Christ the moment you accept him into your heart-the moment you recognize him as the Savior…your savior. You become a leader once you recognize that you have been transferred a responsibility of sharing his love.
How can we know what to do when it comes to leadership? Like anything else, God promises his guidance. In Isaiah 48:17 “…thus sayeth the Lord…I am the Lord thy God…which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” The NIV says “…I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” We can try to lean on our own understanding of things but God clearly states in Proverbs 3:5, 6 = “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Vs. 6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, WHY?... he shall direct thy paths”! If you trust him enough to call on him…then trust him enough to direct you. [You have not because you ask not – James 4:2]
As believers, are we or are we not, to encourage one another with the instruction and direction God gives us? Are we each to sit back and try [as an unprepared school student] to hide behind a book so that no one sees us to call on us to make a difference for the cause of Christ?
Perhaps you don’t see yourself in a leadership position. You are much more comfortable as a follower. For sure it has less responsibility. You are a follower indeed when you call on Christ as your Savior…you become a Christ-follower; a Christian, one who follows his example. You will find that the longer you are a Christian, the more evident your need to lead will become. Why? God wants, in facts he instructs us to ‘lead’ others to his Son Jesus Christ. The Great Commission Matthew 28:19, 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” makes his intention very clear but how can we lead others to Jesus-teach and baptize if we only follow and not lead? We would wait for everyone else to get God’s work done.
Does this sound familiar?
“You can leave me out…teaching or giving out tracts or being under the microscope is not for me. I cave when you put me out front – don’t take me out of my comfort zone! I’m better in the background…following others.” I hope you have never said anything close to the previous statement. If you have then I want to warn you that you are limiting your spiritual growth and may be grieving the Holy Spirit.
Humanly; secularly speaking, those who seek leadership recognize that to some extent it will come with authority and control. For some reason ‘people’ love to be in control of something. In God’s role of leadership however, the one considered “the leader” is often the greatest servant! Jesus is the most prominent example of that – The King of Kings died to serve. Without his subservience there would not have been a need for his coming…and none of us would have been led to the cross. The greatest leader “King” of all time led us to the cross by putting us before him. The Leader went to the back of the line and gave us the right to ‘control’ our own destiny. Heaven or Hell – if you are not a born again believer, then I ask you, which will it be?
Coming up alongside… As for me – I believe…
A leader in God’s family will not hesitate to take a step back so that they may walk beside me. For the most part, I don’t need to be pushed along from behind or pulled along with a mighty tug – please walk beside me and take me by the hand and when you step ahead I will be able to trust you and follow.
So, in Part one of Following Jesus we talked for the most part about following, now in part 2 we are looking at the leading part of the equation.
The shepherd of the 23rd Psalm proves the heart of a good leader by exposing his role: “The Lord is my shepherd….he maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters….he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness…” He is the shepherd and the sheep represent the followers or God’s children. The shepherd would give his life (John 10:11) to keep his sheep safe, he would lead them to pastures to feed and to calm waters to drink and he would lead them to rest. They could trust him and they would know his voice and follow him (John 10:3). That’s how we are to lead….with insight and compassion, with intellect and courage; and the example is set down by our shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Sheep have no defenses against the beast that would devour them – the shepherd leads them to safety and fights against anything that would bring the flock to harm. You and I would have no defense against the beast Satan; accept for our Shepherd, Jesus. Jesus walks with us, goes before us and has been where we have been. He sets the example for us as to how we are to pick up our cross and follow him. We are to compliment him by walking in his steps and being obedient to his word.
Have you been holding back not wanting to step up to a responsibility that seems too hard for you? Remember that God will not give you anything to do that he does not equip you for or expect anything from you that he does not prepare you for. He is always with you throughout the task. Moses felt incompetent and he would have been on his own. The job God sent him on was too big for him (Exodus 3), but God assured him that He would be there too. Moses said “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh…and bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”…and God said “Certainly I will be with thee…” When the Lord informed Joshua that he would be filling Moses’ shoes, Joshua was no doubt consumed with a lack of confidence. I say that because the Lord, as it is pointed out in chapter one of the Book of Joshua says (vs. 5) “…as I was with Moses, I will be with thee: I will not fail thee” and again in vs. 9, “…the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Within those first nine verses God encourages Joshua three times to be strong and very courageous. Don’t be afraid - God never expects us to accomplish the assignment he sets before us without his leadership….but he will transfer the responsibility to us in that we have to step out in faith.
A verse to commit to memory:
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” I peter 2:21 – not sure of where you are going? Follow Jesus and live out his example, it will turn you into a leader.
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