Did you hear of the man who was dyslexic, agnostic and an insomniac? Yes, he stays awake all night long wondering if there really is a “Dog.”
Michael Josephson, the founder of the “Josephson Institute of Ethics” in Southern California writes about an old legend that tells of a monastery in France well-known throughout Europe because of the extraordinary leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks began a pilgrimage to visit Brother Leo to learn from him. Almost immediately the monks began to bicker over who should do various chores. On the third day they met another monk who was also going to the monastery, and he joined their party. This monk never complained or shirked a duty, and whenever the others fought over a chore, he would gracefully volunteer and simply do it himself. By the last day the other monks were following his example, and they worked together smoothly.
When they reached the monastery and asked to see Brother Leo, the man who greeted them laughed: "But our brother is among you!" And he pointed to the fellow who had joined them late in the trip.
Today, many people seek leadership positions not so much for what they can do for others, but for what the position can do for them: status, connections, perks or future advantage. As a result, they serve primarily as an investment, a way to build an impressive resume.
The parable about Brother Leo teaches another model of leadership, where leaders are preoccupied with serving rather than being followed, with giving rather than getting, and doing rather than demanding. It`s a form of leadership based on example, not command. It`s called servant leadership.
Can you imagine how much better things would be if more politicians, educators and business executives saw themselves as servant leaders.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
In listing these gifts, Paul accomplishes two purposes. First he told how wonderful it is to be a Christian. Our justification is not simply a guarantee of heaven, as thrilling as that is, but it is also the source of tremendous blessings that we enjoy here and now. What does justified mean? Justification has to do with our standing with God. It’s when God looks at us and says, “Not guilty, by the blood of Jesus”. A simpler meaning that I like is “Justified” – “Just if I’d never sinned.”
His second purpose was to assure his readers that justification is a lasting thing. Jewish readers in particular would ask, “Can this spiritual experience last if it does not require obedience to the Law?” What about the trials and sufferings of life?
When God declared us righteous in Jesus Christ, He gave to us four spiritual blessings that assure us that we cannot be lost. The unsaved person is at “enmity” with God because they cannot obey God’s Law or fulfill His will. Enmity is a state of deep seated ill will.
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Think about that. There is nothing we can do more to earn God’s love and nothing we can do less that would take that away. We have peace with God. God loves us just the way we are. Why make it complicated? Why doubt that?
We have access to God: In Jewish history people were kept from God’s presence by the veil in the temple. Only the High Priest was allowed access to the Holy of Holies. But when Jesus died, He tore the veil and broke down the wall. When God first appeared to the wandering Israelites, He came in the form of a cloud by day and fire by night. God’s Glory filled the Tabernacle, the movable Temple. So if people desired to be close to God, they needed to be close to the Tabernacle. When the Temple in Jerusalem was built in its splendor, God’s Glory filled the Temple. So if people wanted to be close to God, they needed to make a pilgrimage to be present in the Temple. When Jesus Christ walked this earth, the Glory of God filled His Body. After all, He was the Son of God. So if people desired to be close to God, they needed to be present wherever Jesus was. He became the walking Temple of God. And after the Temple veil was torn in two, we now had direct access to God through Christ Jesus. After the resurrection of Jesus, in Acts chapter 2, Luke writes that those gathered in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And the same is true for us today when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We have direct access to God because our bodies are now the Holy Temple of God. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, The Apostle Paul writes; “Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within you?”
We have glorious hope: Peace with God takes care of the past – God no longer holds our sins against us. Access to God takes care of the present – we can come to Him at any time for the help we need. Hope of the glory of God takes care of the future – one day we shall share in His glory.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, How optimistic are you about your future, how much hope do you have? In that great mid-life crisis movie, “City Slickers”, Billy Crystal’s character Mitch attends career day at his son’s grade school. Mitch is anything but optimistic. His son had told everyone that his dad was a submarine captain, but he really sells advertising. The kids aren’t interested at all in what he does—and neither is he. In classic Baby Boomer angst, Mitch gives the kids something to think about.
He tells the kids to “Value this time in your life, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you’re a teenager, you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?" Your forties, you grow a little potbelly, you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale; you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, and breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering, "how come the kids don’t call?" Any questions?” (From City Slickers)
Justification is no escape from the trials of life. But for believers, trials work for God, not against Him. No amount of suffering can separate us from the Lord. Trials bring us closer to the Lord and make us more like Jesus. Suffering builds Christian character. The sequence is: tribulation – patience, proven character – hope. Our English word tribulation comes from a Latin word “Tribulum.” In Paul’s day, a tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it used for threshing the grain. It was drawn over the grain and it separated the wheat from the chaff. As we go through tribulations and depend on God’s grace, the trials purify us and separate us into God’s will for our lives.
Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8 verse 18; “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed within us.” One day we will enter the gates of Heaven and see Jesus face to face. Each difficulty and trial will melt away in the light of eternity. We are not living for today but instead we are living for that day when we stand in the presence of Jesus. David writes in Psalm 27, verses 5-6; “For in the days of trouble, God will conceal me in His Tabernacle; in the secret place of His Tent He will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock and I will sing, yes I will sing praises to the Lord.”
God’s love is within us: Proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” As we wait for this hope to be fulfilled, the love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Faith hope and love all combine to give us patience in the trials of life. And patience makes it possible for us to grow in character.
Listen to the words of James, Jesus’ half brother chapter 1 verses 2-4: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
When Crowfoot, the great chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in Southern Alberta Canada, gave the Canadian Pacific Railroad permission to cross Blackfoot land, he was given in return a lifetime railroad pass. Crowfoot put it in a leather case and wore it around his neck for the rest of his life. There is no record that he ever used the pass or traveled anywhere on the trains.
The promises of God are often treated this way by Christians. We hang these promises on plaques on the wall or treasure them in little boxes, but we so often do not claim them in times of need.
“For we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Even as we endure trials, God will use each experience for our good and His good. Praise be to God.
