Monday, January 28, 2008
@1:12 AM
Today, I received a revelation that blew me away. And kept me thinking, thinking, thinking...check it out, especially the end part. It's worth the length. ;)Our ministry should always strive to have a
long-term positive effect on the people we touch.
Being in a position of leadership, what will really empower our ministry and serving lies in the joy we recieve from being in a relationship with the love of our life, the reason why we serve.
When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsamane,
His soul was in constant conflict between his destiny and his humanity, to take the path of least resistance.Jesus was the one Himself who asked Simon Peter to bring with him a sword, yet He was also the one who re-attached the soldier's ear that was cut off by Simon Peter. Imagine how unjustified Simon Peter must have felt: after all, the bringing of the sword was Jesus' instruction! Yet,
time and again, Jesus put His disciples through the most difficult tests, so that they could have the revelation that it will never be done through human effort, but ministry is going to entail spiritual work, period. During the last supper, when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, what went through His mind? Was He serving or leading them in His actions?
Was He a leader who was serving, or a servant who was leading? If your
identity is a leader, you will find yourself choosing the who, when and what of the people you lead. Yet, if your
identity is a servant, there will be nothing beneath you.
Leading is what you do, but a servant is who you really are. That's our identity.
Jesus led the disciples by washing their feet.
Abraham Lincoln once said
"Any man can withstand adversity, but if you want to test him, give him power." How do you handle leadership positions and authority? Do your actions communicate or command pride?
Everything that Jesus did had a reason. There never failed to be a message he wanted to deposit into the spirit of his disciples. Likewise, everything He tells us to follow today has a reason.
Have you taken the lesson home yet?