I could not just go out and party without a thought about it the next day. I always woke up thinking, my savior died so I could do this? So I could encourage my struggling, broken, aching friends to cope this way? This is NOT right...there HAS to be hope. There HAS to be more than all of this suffering.
I didn't know it then but I was already thinking of what it means to be a leader.
Webster's definition-Leader:The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.
No matter what your gifts or talents are, at some point in time God has or will call you to be one of His leaders, if you've accepted His gift of grace. This makes me realize no matter how much I feel like I'm not measuring up to this world or comparing myself to others (which is a sin I struggle with) God HAS plans for me to lead...lead people to love, hope, and salvation. That His people may find life through Him, His sacrifice and His love.
1 Peter 5:2-4
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over[a]those allotted to your charge, but [b]proving to be examples to the flock. 4 And when the ChiefShepherd appears, you will receive the unfading [c]crown of glory.
So many times we think of a leader as someone who has it all together, who goes above and beyond, we may think they're the people who are involved in every committee at church or in their work place. At the same time, we're forgetting about what God does behind the scenes. Although it is important to have organization, structure and discipline we often forget that it is necessary to KNOW who we're leading, in order to lead them according to what God wants. It breaks my heart when churches don't look in their own back yard and say how can I fully reach out to this community with love. It doesn't have to be a big event, or even something huge. It can be as simple as opening your doors and arms to people hurting. We need to reach people who have no hope, instead of ONLY investing in those who have found Christ. It is SUPER important to focus on encouraging and keeping our brothers and sisters in Christ accountable but we also have to expand the love of God. We cannot keep something so great to ourselves in our comfortable bubbles. I admit I have done so. The cry of my heart is that I'm continually reaching out to anyone and everyone that crosses my path. I want my legacy to be that I live out love. Hence the name of my blog, a phrase I've lived by since high school. Love is a verb. Act it out!
So many times we think of a leader as someone who has it all together, who goes above and beyond, we may think they're the people who are involved in every committee at church or in their work place. At the same time, we're forgetting about what God does behind the scenes. Although it is important to have organization, structure and discipline we often forget that it is necessary to KNOW who we're leading, in order to lead them according to what God wants. It breaks my heart when churches don't look in their own back yard and say how can I fully reach out to this community with love. It doesn't have to be a big event, or even something huge. It can be as simple as opening your doors and arms to people hurting. We need to reach people who have no hope, instead of ONLY investing in those who have found Christ. It is SUPER important to focus on encouraging and keeping our brothers and sisters in Christ accountable but we also have to expand the love of God. We cannot keep something so great to ourselves in our comfortable bubbles. I admit I have done so. The cry of my heart is that I'm continually reaching out to anyone and everyone that crosses my path. I want my legacy to be that I live out love. Hence the name of my blog, a phrase I've lived by since high school. Love is a verb. Act it out!
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