FOR JESUS’ LOVE 19
Leadership Traits
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (December 18, 2017)
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (St. John 21:15-17, King James Version [Christ’s charge to Peter]}
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, the coming in to leadership is not always easy as Jesus’ family, Joseph and Mary demonstrated when they had to pick up and run so as not to face danger almost immediately since the birth of Jesus. Most importantly, folks think of the coming in to leadership as that time of the fleeing of Jesus with his mother and father instead of firstly, the leadership of the spirit, “And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” [Genesis 1:2, King James Version] and secondly, the leadership of God orally (spoken-out commandment) in word “Let there be light: and there was light.” [1:3] Oftentimes, we wonder why the movement of man is closely watched as it is from municipality-to-municipality even in times when there is no natural disaster pending or upon us---society- as-a-whole wants to keep the streets of America (United States of America) cleared as if God could move upon the streets as he moved upon the waters, in the beginning or is it the movement of the devil that goes about looking to see whom he can get even though the movement of Christ Jesus watches to defend his own sheep, some lost, not knowing to whom they belong [I Peter 5:8-11, KJV “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. A –men.” (Faith and good works)] Jesus is the light of the world. [John 8:12, KJV “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (Christ justifieth his doctrine)]
2
More importantly, the understanding of leadership at birth is observed by the folks around us. Folks say, he or she is an old soul because of the gestures of movement and of the face, hands, legs or how the baby moves his body in facial expressions. Hence, an old soul represents wisdom of age, of experiences had, of life lived, ---to guide us to avoid the pitfalls of life:
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” [John 3: 17-21, KJV (The witness of John)]
For when Joseph told his brethren about his dream, they said: “And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” [Genesis 37:19-20] To that end, accordingly THE PROVERBS which says the true source of wisdom is the fear of the Lord when the pithy sayings with practical implications teach us about chastity, control of the tongue, laziness, knowledge, relations with others, and justice, we find:
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” [1: 10-23, KJV (Wisdom promiseth safety)]
3
Furthermore, you have heard that the old folks said, “If you dig a pit---a ditch for someone, you might as well dig two, for you shall surely fall in.” The same proverbs, possibly written by King Solomon said, “Whosoever diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.” [26:27, KJV (Maxims and observations)] Now, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus had to flee as a baby not from the thieves that come by night and nowadays in the light of day, as well but rather He had to flee in the bosom of his mother and guide of his father from the powers that be for Joseph saw in a dream that Herod the king was sending his soldiers to hunt-to-kill baby Jesus.
“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then, Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.” [Matthew 2:1-11; 12-16, KJV (Visit of the wise men)]
In closing, Egypt and Joseph saw Israel through again, for Joseph was saved by his brother Reuben from the certain death that his other brothers planned for him because in his dream he saw them bow down to him yet he was still cast into a pit and sold to the rich men of Egypt---later to rise up to the power and authority of the King as his right-hand man in order to protect the same brethren---all of Israel, during a time of famine in all of the surrounding lands but not in Egypt because God guided Joseph how to save Egypt by storing food---grain away for the time of famine. However, Joseph died and Egypt enslaved Israel but God brought them out as he called Christ Jesus the Son of God out of Egypt, led out by another Joseph, his flesh adopted father with his mother, Mary. During times of suffering, especially during Christmas time, we suffer, in hunger and thirst, especially those to whom they say, “no one came” with a box of food or gifts for the family. We must think back at the temptation of Christ Jesus for the tempter---the devil surely came: “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” [4:3-4, KJV]
In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Christ be with you. Lord, save us. Amen.
