You can rely on Him, He is leading.
It’s an ongoing challenge on a personal as well as a corporate level to appreciate how God is leading. Reading about the history of God’s chosen people and their ability to see shadows of Him leading and then essentially seek to replace His leadership with their own version is very telling. It does go back to the rejection of God from the beginning, the active decision to say that the human would be in charge of ruling with the knowledge of good and evil.
It was fascinating to see the ways in which God led His people in the past and how He leads now.
Patriarch: The term has negative connotations for some and its abuses certainly highlights why it gets the bad press it does. Yet for a national and a people, being known because of their heritage from their fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – was not a negative thing. It was a source of identity and seeing identity’s source. Even as the New Testament has origins at the heart by seeing source as crucial, so there’s something to hold onto when we know where we’re coming and more importantly who we’re coming from. Luke’s genealogical account is particularly crucial because we are certainly supposed to see the Son as coming from the Father and the Father as the source to all those who by faith connect to the family of Life. Jesus presenting God as a Father might appear radical in the day and age, but it’s not unsurprising in the bigger picture of where we’re coming from and where we find the best pattern to be a true Patriarch.
Prince: Kingdom is a pivotal theme in scripture. Once again in these days where the ideology of democracy seeks to give people the impression that they have a significant say in how they are ruled, the idea of a greater authority might not appeal. Yet, here is a great loss for society. The Kingdom of God invites us to a way and order of life rooted in what’s right and what produces peace and fruitfulness. The problem of having hundreds, thousands and millions of voices is that when you do what’s right in your own eyes that’s a great way to find yourselves in conflict with others and rather than pursuing harmony, under the guise of compromise, what tends to happen is one person looking to get the upper hand over the other. This is why Jesus as King and the Prince of Peace is a source of hope for the planet and those who seek those qualities. Exhibiting that rule in His first appearance on earth and equipping others by His Spirit to exemplify what it is to live under this rule is a better way to live than the alternative.
Prophet: From the beginning God has been a creative communicator. Appreciating the role of the prophet more and more as I’ve studied them is not just to utter the phrase “this is what God says”, it’s a great experience to know that God speaks. It’s also good to know that His means of speaking isn’t just through the verbal means, but with pictures. The amount of times God will show something and depict His word through that picture should make us pay more attention to what He’s showing just as much as what He’s saying. Whatever the method, He delights in communicating and using His present communication to connect with previous communication that reveals His heart for now and going forward. His method of communication is in time and timely as well as for a time to come where others will likewise celebrate the way in which His word appears right on time. His communication as well is to bring us back to Him ever discovering and rediscovering who He is and who we are in Him. that ongoing dial is so pivotal, He has given us the means to ever remain in contact and to know even in the seeming silence, He still communicates.
Priest: When I think about the role of a priest, the first role is usually about being a servant who offers. That service would go on to take a highly vaunted and respected status in certain communities and cultures. Its heart, however, remains that of serving and offering, offering and serving. It’s the doing as well that supplements the sayings, it’s the works that reflects the words. A connecting role and an intermediary role. This form of leadership should bring people back to their roles as connectors. This is the best way in which people can truly be in submission to each other. The premise is always looking out for what serves the needs of the other. The first servant is God, which remains a surprise for us who rightly acknowledge Him as Lord and the authority. He leads by example and that example was always about serving and offering, offering and serving in a bid to connect. That could be seen in the way He clothed the rebellious first couple after their rebellion. It could certainly be seen in the lamb that was slain to rescue people from the grip of sin. It is seen in the washing of the feet of His followers. It is evident in how those who followed would likewise live sacrificially to serve others. All indicating at the style of leadership we take from above to help us know how to live here below.
Pastor: Tending to flock, ensuring they are well nurtured, caring for their needs, protecting them from predators. It takes us full circle from the great example of the patriarch that’s applied in the mundane and humdrum day to day life. The whole thing about leading is know where you’re going. It’s much better to be with Someone who can take that responsibility and show what it is to serve and communicate as well as take responsibility in any given situation. The imagery of how to look after creatures of the planet are not coincidental considering the mandate of humanity from creation was about looking after what goes on in the planet especially having dominion over the creatures. It’s good to see that model have an application to our lives because it reminds us that we need to remember we don’t belong to ourselves or make our own rules. We reflect the righteous rule of the one who created, sustains and serves creation.
Through these pictures it is reassuring to see how we can rely on Him – He is leading.
(Photo by Andy Kelly on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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