1 Corinthians 3:5-6

Think for a moment about the Christian leaders that you have known. I’ve been a Christian a long time and I could easily come up with a list of scores of leaders who have helped me to understand the Christian message. I am so grateful to God for them. I can remember very few words that they have spoken (even though I must have heard thousands of their sermons) but I can easily remember their sincerity, kindness, humour, love, compassion, thoughtfulness and their strength of faith. But, at the end of the day, they were all servants. The person who really matters is God himself, because he alone gives life and causes growth.

It is important that we should love and support our Christian leaders, but it is vital that we don’t exaggerate their importance. Their role is simply to point to the God whom they serve. I say this because I have sometimes seen people become devastated when a leader moves on, or when a minister slips up. God doesn’t call us to worship and serve our leaders, but to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to him. All leaders are frail and vulnerable like the rest of us. They are on the same roller- coaster of life as us, so have their ups and down. We need to rejoice in their good days and forgive their bad ones, but ensure that our focus is continually and supremely on the One whom we all serve.

Question

What have you learned from the leaders that you have known?

Prayer

Loving Lord, thank you for all the leaders that you have used to teach and support me in my Christian faith. But most of all I thank you that you are the one who, by your Spirit, enables me to grow. Amen