It would be an understatement to say that from time to time I get tunnel vision. This is where I can only see that which I am seeking and nothing else matters. My life ends up being like a kid that only is consumed with the next ring on the monkey bars. This is nothing new when it comes to men and even more so those in leadership.
Jesus himself is recorded during His earthly ministry in the book of Mark traveling with a group of followers to do ministry in Jericho. Along the way a blind beggar begins to cry out to Jesus, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Those followers that were with Jesus began to scold the beggar, telling him to shut up. But, he began to yell all the louder. Jesus stops the entire love train and tells those with him to bring the man to Him. Jesus asks the beggar, "what do you want me to do for you?" The man answered, "I want to see." Jesus tells the man, "Your faith has made you whole." The Bible says that, "immediately the man regained his sight and rejoiced and begin to follow Jesus."
What might look like just another extraordinary healing in the ministry of Jesus actually is a reminder of what matters in ministry. Those that are in ministry are always on the way to "Jericho" by that I mean their God breathed Dream, their next leadership Destination, their Godly Destiny. I can't really scold the followers of Jesus that tell the man on the side of the rode to shut it, because I've been just like them. Maybe not in the literal since, but I know what it's like to be consumed with doing good work that I'm blind to the priorities of God.
Allot of things can get ignored when we get tunnel visioned on "our next big thing". Here are a few of the victims that I've hurt with this disease: my wife, my kids, my family, my friends, my staff, my church family, and people along the journey that didn't seem in my mind to fit in with my next big goal. Jesus puts the brakes on this leadership conference to remind those that are following Him what he really values: the rejected, the refuse of society, those on the fringe. It's not about hanging out with Jesus and being associated with him so that we can exalt our Kingdom. It is about being his disciple and being like him. Maybe being like Him means putting down the habit of feverishly reading every leadership book that comes out for a while and picking up people that matter to Christ.
My life is not about the next destination, it is about the journey. If I stay consumed with making Christ priorities mine, my steps will be ordered to my God dream, that God destiny, or hoped for destination. There always be another Jericho in the distance. Let's maybe think about the destitute.
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