Friday, March 20, 2009

Christ, Who is our Life

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is our life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory.
(Colossians 3:3-4 NKJV)

Our world constantly cries out for leadership. It always has. Men and women of God have provided it over the years, though it was humanly flawed and thus at times imperfect. You can read about it in the Bible. You should check it out sometime.

Jesus provided perfect leadership. That’s found in the Bible too. The Old Testament points forward to Jesus. You can see Him in prospect on nearly every page, if you look hard enough. The Old Bible was constantly saying, “What we have now is good, but we’re not quite there yet. There’s something better. There’s something that will help us where we’re slipping, sliding, and failing now.” And the Old Testament revealed, in stories and symbols and prophecies, that that something was a someone. He was the Messiah, the anointed/chosen One from God. The New Testament calls Him “Christ” and reveals that He is God.

In the New Testament, the epistles look back at Jesus. He had already lived among men, His creation, on this earth and completed His redemptive/instructive mission. They examine closely who Jesus is, what His mission meant, and our response to Him and blessings in Him. Carefully cradled in between the Old Testament and the epistles, we have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. God, through these four, gives us an account of the life of Christ. We are awed by His example. We are guided by His teaching. We exult as we see His glory.

Jesus is our Lord Master. Hope is in Him and nowhere else. Meaning and purpose are in Him and without Him nothing, nothing, means anything. He is our life!

As disciples of Christ today, we must step up. We must humbly, prayfully, and carefully demonstrate to the struggling, groping world about us - what Christianity actually is. It is a life. It is the life. It must be our life.

This demonstration is not easy. It is hard. It demands sacrifice. It demands trust in and submission to our Lord. The Christian life is not for the selfish, those who desire to be rich in material things, or those with self-image issues who require continual reinforcement of their personal worthiness from other humans who themselves may have a skewed vision of what is real and matters and what is temporary and doesn’t. The Christian sees this life through the lens of Scripture and thus sees with clarity. With the proper knowledge of who they are, where they are, and where they’re going – the Christian is fully equipped for leadership. Christians are members of the army of Christ. They understand where the battle is being fought. They know which side is which. And, they know the outcome of the fight.

The call goes out, “Who will be a leader? Who will be courageous enough to be different? Who doesn’t care what others think? Who doesn’t care what the world values?” Who will…

Step up and lead!

1 comment:

Scott said...

John, I am catching up on blog reading. Just read yours and wanted to say thanks for the challenge. Leadership is an area I think we need more instruction time for in the church. Our elders are currently teaching a teen boys class on leadership. I pray this grows.