I was reading in my Latin book a couple weeks ago and I started reading my assignment and it was eye opening to me! Here in my Latin book it was talking about Jesus’s leadership compared to other rulers! The following is an excerpt from the book… when you read it, I want you to really think about it.
“Napoleon regarded this as precisely the most striking proof of the divinity of Jesus– namely, His power over men’s hearts. The once well-nigh all-powerful Corsican, in the solitude of his (Napoleon’s) last days, called up before his imagination all the heroic figures and master minds of the world, and measured them by his own gigantic greatness. But all of them combined, and yet he himself as well, vanished like empty shadows before the person of Jesus Christ. ‘What a conqueror!’ he cried in amazement; ‘a conqueror who controls humanity at will, and wins to himself not only one nation but the while human race. What a marvel! He attached to himself the human soul with all its energies. And how? By miracle which surpasses all others. He claims the love of men– that is to say, the most difficult thing in the world to obtain; that which the wisest men cannot force from his truest friend, that which no father can compel from his children, no wife from her husband, no brother from his brother– the heart. He claims it; He requires it absolutely and undividedly, and He obtains it instantly. Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, Louis XIV strove in vain to secure this. They conquered the world, yet they had not a single friend, or at all events they have none anymore. Christ speaks, however, and from that moment all generations belong to Him; and they are joined to Him much more closely than by any ties of blood and by a much more intimate, sacred and powerful communion. He kindles the flame of a love which causes one’s self love to die, and triumphs over every other love. Why should we not recognize in this miracle of love the eternal Word which created the world? The other founders of religions had not the least conception of this mystic love which forms the essence of Christianity. I have filled multitudes with such passionate devotion that they went to death for me. But God forbid that I should compare the enthusiasm of my soldiers with Christian love. They are as unlike as their causes. In my case, my presence was always necessary, the electric effect of my glance, my voice, my words, to kindle fire in the their hearts. And I certainly possess, personally, the secret of that magic power of taking by storm the sentiments of men; but I was not able to communicate that power to anyone...That is the fate of all great men. It was the fate of Alexander and Caesar, as it is my own. We are forgotten, and the names of the mightiest conquerors and most illustrious emperors are soon only the subject of a schoolboy’s task. Our exploits come under the orb of a pedantic schoolmaster, he praises or condemns us as he likes. What abyss exists between my profound misery and the eternal reign of Christ, who is preached, loved, worshiped, and lives on throughout the entire world? Is this to die? Is it not rather to live eternally? The death of Christ! It is the death of a God.” (Robert J. Henle, S.J. Henle Latin Year 2, Loyola Press, Chicago, 1958, Pages 269-272)
You may have to read it a few times before it really sinks in. The powerful message that Napoleon expresses with the best words! I thought more and more about how Christ lead, and how He lived. Honestly, I had never thought about how good a leader Christ was, but to me it convicted me on how leaders truly should live.
By looking in Christ life I found how he lead. Jesus gave a promise the biggest promise that was ever given He also gave people hope of a new life, something they had always been seeking for. He was truth and spoke the truth. Jesus wasn’t concerned about who followed Him or who liked Him. Jesus united people but He also divided people. Jesus worked alongside His disciples and helped them. He lead more by example than by words, He also walked what He taught. Most of all Jesus loved them, and put them above Himself!
Let me tell you about Marissa, a 10 year old girl, who loved the Lord, she liked to lead others and organize things. Her mom had taught her that the best way to lead was by example. She lived her life according to what God said in His word. Marissa had always appreciated how older girls had taken time to invest in her so she in turn invested in the young girls whom she was around. She loved helping them, serving with them and loving them. Just by her countenance, girls were drawn to her. She told them about God’s promise of a fruitful life if they followed Him. Marissa worked alongside these girls to show how girls were supposed to serve the Lord. Her life was not just an example of good leadership but also one that poured out the fruit of the spirit. She was a leader who knew how to inspire others, and also one who lead people to do good things.
Jesus was a great leader and he lead the right way towards godliness. We are supposed to imitate Christ’s attitude whether we are a leader or not. I have a few things that I think that each of us need to evaluate in our life so that we are imitating Christ’s life. The first thing is our life, second is the end goal, and third is the way we are going to get there.
First we need to evaluate our life. Are we so in-love with God that we seek to please and do His will in every area of our life? Is He in first place? Our whole life centered around Him? Does our life line up to what God wants it to be? If we are a good leader we should be able to answer “yes” to all the questions. When we are in-love with Jesus, all things we want to do will be things that Jesus wants us to do. We won’t be caught up in the worldly ways, because we will be seeking to do His will and follow His commands. God needs to be in first place in our life. Jesus gave us many examples of people in the Bible, who didn’t want to give up riches, pleasure and family to follow Him. Is our family, friends, hobbies, dreams, and material possessions taking first place in our life instead of God? If so, we need to change that and make sure He is in His rightful place. Is our life clearly the life of a believer, or is it half-way between? Are things in our life keeping us from following God’s commands? Are we too concerned about what the world thinks about us that we forget what Christ says? God says that we are not to be conformed to this world, but live a life fully submitted to Christ, holy and blameless before Him. Look in the Bible for the ways God has commanded us to walk in. As leaders, we need to be above reproach, and far exceeding the “good Christian” line.
The second area we need to evaluate is our end goal. What do we want to accomplish in our life? Marissa’s end goal was to reach and impact others for Christ, how she had been impacted. She also wanted to show others and teach others what life centered around Christ really looked like. Martin Luther wanted to bring people back to the word of God. George Washington wanted to have independence from England. Abe Lincoln wanted to free the slaves. Martin Luther King Jr wanted to have equal rights. Elizabeth Elliot wanted to tell the Aucas about Jesus. Gladys Aylward wanted to bring Chinese kids to the Lord and save them from the war. These are examples of leaders and people in the world that had big goals. Sometimes goals can be small and some can be big, but goals are what motivates you and others to continue. Jesus saved us and He also wanted to equip us with the information we needed to live a fulfilled life. We also need to ask ourselves “why” we have this goal. What causes us to want this? Is our reason, to give ourselves to God and others? or for any personal gain? They had goals that were God-honoring. We need to make sure that our goal lines up with scripture otherwise we will either lead ourselves away or lead other people away from God’s word. Pray about your end goal a lot!!! It will be very important in whether it’s a good end goal... and most godly end goals, Satan will try to stop, so you absolutely need it covered in prayer!
The third area we need to evaluate is the way we are going to achieve our end goal. Once we have found that our goal is what the Lord wants, then we need to ask Him for guidance on how to achieve it. This is also an area that must be godly, and following the way God wants. So often, our goals can be right, but the way we achieve it is wrong. Following God’s laws of leadership and how to govern ourselves can be vital to how well we get to our goal. Our love and passion for Christ, should flow out so freely, that all can see who we really serve, and why we seek that end goal. When we get caught up in the little things along the way, we lose sight of the end goal. Don’t take your eyes off the Lord, even for a moment.
Whether or not we want to be a leader these tips can be helpful in real life. Sometimes life chooses us to be leaders even though we might not want to be. God puts us in places where we have to step out of our comfort bubble and truly serve God. Remember that the best example of a leader is Jesus!
“A true leader must have enough backbone to stand alone - even when the crowd wants to take the easy road home. A true leader cannot be dependent on companionship for his or her security, but must learn to trust in God alone.”
-- Leslie Ludy
“Jesus a conqueror who controls humanity at will, and wins to himself not only one nation but the whole human race. What a marvel! He attached to himself the human soul with all its energies. And how? By miracle which surpasses all others. He claims the love of men– that is to say, the most difficult thing in the world to obtain; that which the wisest men cannot force from his truest friend, that which no father can compel from his children, no wife from her husband, no brother from his brother– the heart. He claims it; He requires it absolutely and undividedly, and He obtains it instantly.” Jesus is truly miraculous, and He captures our hearts and turns them to Himself! Be like the best leader of all, Jesus!!!
