Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Leaders lead for the sake of relationships. The primary relationship for us all is a personal connection to God in our hearts. A personal relationship with God gives us a common bond for a personal relationship with one another. Our fellowship is not merely a fellowship of natural people. Our fellowship is centered on the person Jesus and Holy Spirit is God dwelling in us in Jesus’ name. By this we are called to know God as our Father and thus we know one another as members of the family of God. We are sons and daughters of one Father, and this is the bond of our connection to one another. For this reason, we minister the love of God by the power of His Spirit to one another as the body of Christ.
Philippians 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Love inspires fellowship and fellowship inspires more love. Love knows the comfort that comes by the care of another. Our affection for one another is bound to a need for mercy and grace. Love is more important than ministry since it is for love that we minister to others. The work of ministry is a service of love. That love manifests in both natural and supernatural ways.
We are not merely called to tasks of ministry. We are grafted into a family of love and purpose whereby we know a life of being loved by God that inwardly empowers us to love Him and one another. Leaders lead for the sake of love. We care for one another and in our caring, we feel both the blessing and the pain that comes with relationships. When I am blessed to see my family, I am happy; but when I have to say goodbye for any length of time it touches my emotions in sadness. Both joy and sadness are experienced in love.
I have been a believer for more than 52 years and in that time, I was a senior pastor for twenty years and another 15 years as a spiritual father to many in the body of Christ. As a senior pastor I felt the joy of loving and the pain experienced when there was a loss of someone I loved in my life. As I connect to leaders globally, I find a common thread of both the joy of connection and the sadness that comes with loss. I have known the joy of connection and the pain of disconnection. I have known the joy of living and the anguish of loss at the death of someone I have loved. I have known laughter, and I have known the tears that come with the sorrow of loss. These are the testimony of love.
I believe that every leader experiences the joys of connection and the sorrow of disconnection. Leaders are desired by some and rejected by others. Leaders are understood by some and misunderstood by others. I believe the pain of loss is as important as the joy of connection. Both of these prove the testimony of love. All believers must know that life is about love. We were born to be loved by God, and we were born again to love Him and others. Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to experience love in the fullest way. Without joy and sorrow we lack in understanding love. The fruit of all that we know in life is meant to be a testimony of love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
As leaders, let us lead others in knowing the treasure of love. It will be filled with joy, and it will also be filled with tears. This is the value of God and others in our lives.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:
Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:
House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.
Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
