Bible Reading: Galatians 6
Key Verse: Verse 17 – "From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."
Key Words: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
Self-sacrifice is a part of the cost that must be paid in order to lead.
J. Oswald Sanders writes: “A cross stands in the path of spiritual leadership, and the leader must take it up. ‘Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’ (I John 3:16). To the degree the cross of Christ is across our shoulders and over our backs, so the resurrection life of Christ is manifest through us. No cross, no leadership. Paul declared, ‘I die daily’ (I Corinthians 15:31b).
“’And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:44-45). Each of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 was called to sacrifice as part of his or her service. Those who lead the church are marked by a willingness to give up personal preferences, to surrender legitimate and natural desires for the sake of God. Bruce Barton quotes a sign at a service station: ‘We will crawl under your car oftener and get ourselves dirtier than any of our competition.’ That is the kind of service the Christian seeks to give.
“Samuel Zwemer remarked that the only thing Jesus took pains to show after His resurrection were His scars. On the Emmaus road His disciples recognized neither Him nor His message. Not until Jesus broke the bread and they possibly saw the scars did they know the person for who He was. When Jesus stood among His demoralized band in the upper room after the resurrection, He showed them ‘both His hands and [His] side.’”
As Paul well knew for it was Paul who said, “For I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
What to do:
✞ Pray for your spiritual leadership.
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