Leadership and participation in the divine nature
I am at my best when I am imitating God, or, more appropriately, participating in the divine nature as expressed through God's communicable attributes. It is easy for me to get lost thinking about His incommunicable attributes like omnipresence, eternality, immutability which are all the the things I can’t fully understand nor participate in. Recently I have gotten a sense that God wants me to focus on His communicable attributes like mercy, faithfulness, love. In looking at how these are expressed in how He leads me I find that there are plenty I can imitate as I lead others:
First, God leads me while possessing a thorough understanding of who I am: As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14)
In participation in His divine nature I need to seek both corporate and individual knowledge of the people I lead.
Second, God leads me with clarity: The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)
Naïve and gullible person that I am God's leadership is so clear that it has the power to make simple people like me wise and to turn me from simplicity to wisdom. I need to make sure that my communication and leadership is as clear as this.
Third, God leads through relationship: “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (Luke 7:41-42)
God is after my heart not my head and both He and the Devil (as the great counterfeiter) do their best work through relationships. As I imitate God I need to run after the hearts of the people I lead and not after the way I lead them. There is always room for excellence in the method of leadership. My participation in the divine nature would have me making sure that, if I lead excellently, it is out of an overflow of love for those I lead.
First, God leads me while possessing a thorough understanding of who I am: As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14)
In participation in His divine nature I need to seek both corporate and individual knowledge of the people I lead.
Second, God leads me with clarity: The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)
Naïve and gullible person that I am God's leadership is so clear that it has the power to make simple people like me wise and to turn me from simplicity to wisdom. I need to make sure that my communication and leadership is as clear as this.
Third, God leads through relationship: “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (Luke 7:41-42)
God is after my heart not my head and both He and the Devil (as the great counterfeiter) do their best work through relationships. As I imitate God I need to run after the hearts of the people I lead and not after the way I lead them. There is always room for excellence in the method of leadership. My participation in the divine nature would have me making sure that, if I lead excellently, it is out of an overflow of love for those I lead.
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