5 November 2017 - as a mother cares for her child

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD is calling us to compassionate leadership. He is calling leaders to be the servants of those they lead. Leadership is vital. All of us, in way way or another, exercise some form of leadership. We must not shrink from this task when we are called to it. But do we do it with compassion, leading by example, and doing all we can to help those in our charge?

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example. 

Or rather, do we barrage people with words and ideas without doing anything to help them to meet the standards? The ideas remain good, noble, and true, but if we only use them to make ourselves seem superior we are unlikely to gain anything either for ourselves or for our brothers and sisters. We need to have no concern whatsoever about how good we look we when exercise roles of leadership except insofar as we are being a help to our brothers and sisters.  Instead there is only one thing necessary to be good leaders: we must put the LORD first. 

If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.

Only by doing so can we be the examples that others need to follow our leadership. Only from the LORD do we find what we need to help our brothers and sisters who struggle to follow. We ourselves do not have the grace they need, but God can give them that grace through us if we put him before all else.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.

Putting God first means having the most profound trust in him, believing that he cares for us as a mother cares for her children. We are then in turn able to show that same care to others. We do not simply state rules and then leave others to their own devices. We share our very selves.

We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. 
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.