Greetings,
God wants people to know who they are. Being a leader is to be an influencer of others to inspire them in their path of destiny. Being a leader is setting an example for others to follow. It is setting an example of the kind of person God wants us all to be. It is about knowing whom we are, not merely knowing what to do. When we know who we are we know what we to do. It is a relationship with God that empowers us to know who we really are. When we come near to Him we become like Him and it then that we reveal the true identity of whom we are. We were once far from God, but Jesus made a way for us to be brought near to the One who gives us life and causes us to become who we were meant to be. We were not far from God because we could not see Him for who He really is.
We were far from God, but now we are near by His mercy. No one needs to be far from God, but people who don’t know who God is still live as though He is far from them and they are far from Him. Jesus paid the price to reconcile humanity to God as their Father. His death upon our cross revealed to us what God is like as a person. Jesus revealed the love of the Father of humanity by His acceptance of our death upon the cross. He died once for all, therefore all died (2 Cor. 5:14). Now all can live in Him and know the love of a heavenly Father who does not condemn nor shame His children. Jesus made peace for us all through the blood of the cross. He wants us to come as we are and be transformed, as we should be by the power of His grace in our lives.
Ephesians 2:14-16 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
There is no gap between that which was Jewish and that which was Gentile. There is no preferred race of humanity; all are children of God in Christ. There is no gap between God and us.
Ephesians 2:17, 18 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
We have access by the Holy Spirit to the Father. No one needs to be a stranger or a foreigner to God. All of humanity needs to know their citizenship in the family of God. We are part of something ancient. We are part of a great glory that is built upon the ceiling of the Old Covenant and the foundation of the New.
Ephesians 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
We are a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. We are part of something ancient. It is the continuation all that was and it is destined to become a culmination of all that ever will be. Every member of the human race is a fellow heir of the same body, the body of Christ. We have been chosen by God to be partakers of the promises of God through the good news of His kingdom in this world and in that, which is to come. Do we know who we are? We are citizens of heaven with a legal authorization to reside upon this earth and influence this world with the power of His amazing grace, an administration that suitable to sum up all things in Christ (Eph. 1:9, 10).
Being a leader is not about being an example of what is right verses what is wrong. It is more about being dependent upon the One who is right. Our dependency upon God is what qualifies us to lead others. We must live with no gap between God and us. We must be vulnerable and willing to yield to Him in all things. We must be examples in being a dwelling place where God lives. God’s presence in our lives and our dependency upon His presence in all things is the qualifying factor of our call to leadership. Our character will change, but it is not our character that qualifies us. It is the One who changes our character who qualifies us. If we are not changing for the better there is not evidence of His presence in our lives and His presence in our lives will for surely change us. Others will clearly see the fruit of change in our lives if we daily seek to see His presence in our lives and we yield to His will and power within us.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
