Line Leader
By Shauna Leis
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6
At my kids’ schools, they get to choose particular jobs that they complete throughout the day. Both of them love it when they are chosen to be the line leader in their classes. When they are the line leaders, everyone else has to follow behind them and go where they go. They are essentially in charge of getting everyone to the right place at the right time. The people behind them trust them to lead everyone in the right direction. So, the line leader is also responsible if they go in the wrong direction and lead everyone astray.
My question to all of us today is: who are we following? In the classrooms of life, there are many different things that we can choose to follow – friends, media, church, or what feels good at the moment. Some things will lead us in the right direction and get us there at the right time. However, many things will lead us very far astray. There is only One, though, who will lead us in the one true direction at all times.
Several thousand years ago, twelve men chose whom they were going to follow. They made a decision when Jesus came along that they would follow Him. Matthew 4:18-20 says, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”
Jesus gave very distinct instructions to the disciples and simply said, “Follow me.” Jesus wanted to be their line leader and desired to guide them in the right direction. He wanted to lead them down the path of eternity, even though at times that road was going to be very narrow and full of obstacles. However, the disciples had the correct response – no hesitation, no asking around if He was an acceptable leader, no looking for others to follow that might seem more glamorous or fun. The gospel of Matthew says “At once ….they followed him.” The disciples heard Jesus’ offer, left all that they were doing, and followed Jesus “at once.”
Now, thankfully Jesus was the perfect leader and never led them astray. He was always going in the right direction and always got them there on time. Unfortunately, there were many then, and are still many today, who would try to lead us in the wrong direction. Paul experienced this with the church in Galatia and pleaded with them to turn back to the one true direction. In his letter to the Galatians 1:6-7, Paul says, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Even today, we still fall victim to the same old lies and deceit – typically for some glory of our own. The lure of the world is so strong that we find ourselves useless to resist under our own power.
Thankfully though, my dear friend, Christ is still in the leading business as our own power is never strong enough. Jesus longs to be your line leader. His sole purpose for coming to this earth was to bring you into a saving knowledge of what He was willing to do for you, that you might follow Him and know the truth. If you listen very carefully, you can still hear Him beckoning, “Come, follow me…” What will your choice be today? Will you drop everything, all of your safety nets, to follow after Christ? Will you hesitate or will you simply go “at once”?
Pray with me: Precious God, we know that You are the only true line leader. The world will try to woo us away from You, but we will stand fast and follow after You. We will drop our nets at once and come to follow You. With You, there is only truth and love. There may be obstacles, but You know the way. Be our guide, Lord, and lead us on. We love You so very much and pray all of this in the name above all names, Jesus Christ! Amen.