Step Up
There are times to follow along quietly and let others lead the way. There are other times when I’m the person to lead out in a particular situation. The wisdom comes in knowing when to lead and when to follow.
Jesus had followers that He turned into leaders. He poured into their lives with His life and teaching. His disciples eventually became strong leaders because of their experience with Him. There were two specific followers who really stepped up after Jesus was crucified and they wanted to give Him a proper burial. Check this out…
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42 NIV)I’m not sure if these two men had anything in common other than they believed in Jesus and respected Him. They didn’t make waves in their respective positions. Upon Jesus death, they stepped up to do the honorable thing. They were not ashamed of their love and respect for Jesus. I can’t help but believe that God honored these two men for stepping up and serving when others were so stunned that they didn’t know what to do or simply didn’t have the resources to do anything.
There are times when I’m the person who should step up and take action and there are other times when I should leave that to someone else. I’m still trying to develop a heart of discernment to let the Lord lead men to know when it’s my moment to step up and serve or lead out.
Pressing On! Dwayne