10/18/2021
Model Leadership
None of us want to live in fear, but we all do. This is not new but a common human experience. Fear limits us. Fear narrows our vision. Instead of seeing the future with hope, fear has us believe the future is a threat.
Even the first disciples saw the future as a threat, but Jesus teaches them invest in the future as we read in the Gospel of Mark 10:35-45.
We all live in fear and see the future as a threat, but this is not what Jesus wants for us. Fear is natural. Faith does not come naturally. Don’t panic if you don’t have faith, you have come to the right place! Anyone who is reading this and who follows Jesus Christ knows how easy it is to fall back into fear. Jesus knows how easy it is for us to fall back into fear.
James and John are so fearful, they cannot even imagine Heaven as a nonthreatening place. This is not the first time fear drives them. Read the Gospel of Mark and you will see that disciples of Jesus Christ transition from fear to faith. On the boat a storm kicks up and they fear they are going to die but Jesus teaches invest in faith. They see 5000 people and then at another time 4000 people and they fear they cannot feed them. Jesus teaches invest in the people. They fear not being the greatest disciple, Jesus teaches invest in the most vulnerable among us. The rich young man fears he does not have purpose, that he does not have meaning, that he does not have abundant life. Jesus teaches invest your life for the sake of others. For God, all things are possible!
None of us want to live in fear, but we all do. Jesus Christ is praying for you right now to follow Him to the cross. Jesus is praying for you right now to invest your life in His Church. Do you want to wake up tomorrow only to fear the future? Or do you want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and invest in the future? The time is now. You cannot change the past, but with Jesus Christ you can invest in the future. Are you living in joyful response to Christ’s love?
As Jesus models leadership, the Lord prays that we will model leadership. Frugality is fear based. Investment is faith based.
Love,
Pastor Curtis