“We are called to lead and be led joyfully.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 1, 2025
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Hebrews 13:17, NIV
Hebrews 13 reminds us that the church is a family in which there are spiritual fathers and mothers who care for their sons and daughters. Sometimes, these are formal and even hierarchical relationships, such as structures of leadership within the church: priests and bishops, ruling elders, boards of governance, and the like. Yet these can also be personal mentoring relationships or trusted friendships. Whatever it may look like in your context, you likely have someone that you are leading in the faith and someone who is keeping watch over your life of faith. Each of us is called in some way to lead and be led, and Hebrews reminds us that this is both a gift and a joy.
Whose life has the Lord entrusted into your care? There are obvious answers to this question, such as children. If you’ve never thought of yourself as a pastor or spiritual guide, yet have little ones (or ones that used to be little!), I encourage you to think again! Your role as a parent isn’t simply to feed and shelter, nor is it to ensure quality education and economic success in your child’s future. These are fine and honorable goals, yet your primary job as a parent is, to borrow from today’s passage, “To keep watch over those for whom you must give an account.” There is no greater calling as a parent than to care for the soul of your child. And while this is the natural and most frequent way in which we have people entrusted to our care, be attentive to others that the Lord may have sent your way. Yes, if you are a ministry leader or pastor, this includes your flock. Yet what about the young employee at your company that looks to you, not only for business advice, but for leadership and input on how to be a godly man or woman in the marketplace? There are opportunities all around us to lead and bless others in their life of faith. Sometimes, we simply need eyes to see them, and to see the joy that it is to invite others to follow us as we follow the Lord.
Just as we lead others, by design, we are always meant to be led. If you are caring for the souls of others, yet no one is caring for you, you have cut off a God-given source of life and limited your ability to invest in others. We give out of what we have received. As we allow others to love us and point us to Christ, we are able to do the same. And so, as Hebrews reminds us, see the joy in having spiritual oversight! Though authority can be abused, it is not inherently broken. No, far from it. It is a joyful gift from the Lord and one of the primary means by which he shares his life with those he loves.
Prayer
Father, teach us today to lead and be led with joy, through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
Application
Consider who the Lord has entrusted into your care to lead in this season, and who he has given to you as a gift to care for your soul, and give thanks for the joy that it is to lead and be led.
Related Reading
Acts 20:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Peter 5:5
Worship Resource
Jesus Image: Majesty
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