Is Christ Your Leader?

There is a tendency for a pastor or leader to become a substitute for Christ. Many godly individuals have been discouraged and some utterly devastated by well-meaning Christian leaders that, perhaps unknowingly, placed themselves between their followers and Christ. Good leaders can be an asset but they need to be viewed as resources that can be employed to facilitate the work of the believer. Christians need see that Christ is their personal Lord and it is He alone that they must follow. Their attitude should always be one of expediency: How can I best serve the Lord? Should I join this or that group or would I be more effective working alone?

What should the believer’s goal be? Is it to end abortion, to accomplish some other great advancement of the faith in the nation, or should it rather be to stand for God’s righteousness in any and every situation he finds himself? When Jesus said “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” which attitude did He have in mind? How many Christians today donate and otherwise support the great movements but fail to speak out against the many violations of God’s law they encounter every day, even among family and friends? Yes, this must be done carefully but not with so much care that nothing is said. We should take our lead from Jesus; what did He do? He dealt with each situation that arose as it appeared, without delay and forthrightly. He didn’t mince or carefully guard His words but spoke the truth in love. Jesus was a light in the darkness of this world and we are to be reflectors of His light, not just useless onlookers that stand by and say nothing as God’s law is trampled underfoot day after day before our very eyes.

Humanism is prospering and the world is growing more and more wicked because most of today’s Christians are not serious workers for Christ. They lack this sense of personal responsibility to Christ and need to see that Jesus really has put the world in their hands. As more Christians become aware and feel the weight of this responsibility, they will begin to speak out as God’s representatives to a sinful world and we will see some real changes taking place. The nation will change but we also will see ourselves change. We will gain confidence and take satisfaction in the knowledge that we are engaged in the work that God has given us, His faithful servants.