Carolina lily, AT trail blaze.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory
because of your steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1
It’s counter-intuitive to our cultural ethos that leadership is “not about us.” Yet for followers of Jesus, leadership never points to one’s self. Leadership does not need pats on the back and cheering. Leadership is not about how clever, how good, how persuasive, how inspiring we are. Leadership is not about winning delegates.
Instead, what makes leaders of those who follow Jesus is that our lives point to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. This is an amazing thing. Somehow, when we don’t get in the way, God’s steadfast love can be seen in us, enfleshed in us—and all this in spite of our unawareness that anything of significance is happening. We may not even know we are leaders in God’s venue. We simply are because we are the Lord’s.
Yes, I know: people will always be imperfect pointers for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. We will never get it right all the time. How could it be otherwise since we humans are endowed with certain unalienable foibles? In fact, we may insert our egos into leadership and get it woefully wrong. Yet here is an astounding thing: in the midst of our weakest, most humbling moments, the fact that God’s outpouring of steadfast, loving grace must wash over us, can absolutely, stunningly point to God’s glory all the more!
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
2. Comment with a photo of your own that is a window of this psalm’s meaning for you.
The next post will be on Psalm 116:12-14.
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
Sharon Beard says
Welcome back. Missed your postings