City on a Hill

"You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand,

and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way,

let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds

and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16

I don't think of myself as a leader.  The leaders I know are confident, self-assured men and women who make a difference in my community, state, country or even in the world.  They are pastors, elected officials, business owners and politicians.  Leaders are in the spotlight giving sound bites and interviews.  Everyone looks to them for guidance and direction.

The thing is, I am a leader whether I realize it or not.  As a follower of Christ, people are watching me.  Others are looking to me for guidance and direction.  They are curious as to what I'm all about.  I may not give press conferences or interviews, but those who are watching me know what my message is by how I live my life.  

What message am I broadcasting?

Faith

Elisabeth Elliot, writer, speaker and wife of martyred missionary Jim Elliot said, "True faith goes into operation when there are no answers."  She should know a little about being sure of what she hopes for and confident of what she cannot see.  After her husband was killed in the jungles of Ecuador by three members of the fierce Auca tribe, she stayed on for 3 years with her young daughter, first boarding two Auca women, then living with the very tribe who had killed her husband and four other missionaries. 

The love of God drove this woman to show compassion to the very people who had brutally speared her husband to death.  To anyone who was paying attention, they were witnessing faith in action.  Observers were being taught how to trust God when everything seemed to be going wrong, when the mission seemed to be a complete and utter failure, and when five families had lost their husbands and fathers in one fell swoop.

Those who were watching Elisabeth were being led down a path of belief in a God who had a plan; a God whose sovereignty is supreme and whose vision is eternal.  Watchers were learning that God can be trusted in times of trouble and that He loves His creation with an everlasting love.

What message about faith am I sending to those who are around me?  What do they learn when they see that my marriage is difficult and love feels cold between husband and wife?  What am I showing them when repairs are mounting, bills are piling up and funds are nonexistent?  What are they seeing when everything seems to be going wrong and my life seems to be a complete and utter failure?  Who do I believe God to be? 

Am I living my life in a way that shows that God is up to the challenge?  That He is my Rock and my Redeemer? That all things are possible with God?  

My faith, or lack of faith, in God is one of the messages I am sending to those who are watching my life.

Hope

I remember a song from my childhood about an ant trying to move a rubber tree plant.  The chorus went, "but he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes, he's got high apple pie in the sky hopes.  So anytime you're feeling low, 'stead of letting go, just remember that ant; oops there goes another rubber tree plant!"

The truth is, we all need hope in order to carry on.  I need to believe that good things can happen and that everything is going to work out okay.

Without knowledge of my Creator, however, I think I would lose hope.  If I didn't know the One who had the plan for my life, how would I know things would turn out for the best?  How would I be able to keep from losing hope in the face of the great trials and difficulties of life?  Hope would be an exercise in futility. . . much like the hope the ant has in single-handedly moving a huge100-foot-tall plant.  

Trying to keep up the front of hopefulness in my own strength is impossible.  There is not much to hope for in this world.  Terrorism is on the rise, the economy is poor, jobs are scarce and love runs cold.

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  (Isaiah 40:31)

When I hope in the Lord, those who are watching will see a Light that stands out in a dark world filled with despair.  

Love

"The thing I don't get is why you keep welcoming my kids back into your home when they've acted so disrespectfully and treated you so poorly."

"Maybe you can answer this question for me.  Don't you find it strange that all the kids flock to your house after school, even before they go home?"

"Why does everyone go to you with their problems?"

These are examples of some of the questions and comments I've received lately.  It shows a clear example of how the love of God is drawing others to Him, and that those who are observing are taking note.  The kind of love most of us are used to is conditional,  It's there when things go right, but the moment it hurts, that love is gone.  

But God's love is different.  It is kind and patient.  God's love never gives up no matter how much abuse is dished out.  God's love endures through every circumstance; sickness, rebellion and nuisance.  God's love doesn't get irritated by childish behavior.  God's love never fails.

Letting God love others through you is one of the most powerful witnesses anyone could offer.  

As Pulitzer Prize-winner Jewish American writer Saul Bellow said, "A man is only as good as what he loves."

The way I allow God's love to flow through me is sending a powerful message to those around me.

I am a leader whether I realize it or not.  How am I leading those who are watching me?  I can send them life-changing illustrations of faith, hope and love in the way I live my life in accordance with God's Spirit.  Nothing is impossible with God!

As I begin this day, it is my hope that I will be mindful of those who are watching.

What message do I send when I'm feeling overwhelmed, under attack and weighed down with the worries of life?

How is God growing my faith through the circumstances of my life today?