CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE DAILY DEVOTIONAL ON YOUTUBE
2 Corinthians 12:14-15
As a father and mother spend their lives gathering and preparing an inheritance for their children, the Apostle Paul spent his life as a father to the churches he planted and being dedicated to their spiritual growth in Christ Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 12:14-15 the Apostle Paul relays this message to the church at Corinth as he views them as his dearly beloved children in Christ. He sends word that he will be coming to visit them a third time, but once again he does not wish to receive funding from them for his services to them. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12:14 (NKJV), “Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.” Yet in his love for them and his struggle to keep them from the false teachers, he also notes in 2 Corinthians 12:15, “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.”
This is an example of a true leader in Christ Jesus.
As we look to the Bible/God’s Word for guidance in our lives, we look first to Jesus as the example that we should follow, but the apostles who wrote about Jesus and of how Jesus changed their lives should also be examples that we should follow in Christ Jesus – they were the leaders of the early Church and still today remain as our teachers through Christ Jesus and the ministries that they set the example for while still yet seeking to be a reflection of Jesus in and through their lives as He is the ultimate example for us to follow.
God has give us qualities, traits, and characteristics in our own time and place to be leaders of His working in our lives; we do not have to be priests and preachers to exhibit Jesus working in our lives to set an example for others to see Christ Jesus in us. A kind timely word of caring, or a helpful hand in a fast-paced world that never seems to have time to spare are great examples to show others Christ Jesus through our lives – we all can do that – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to see that as Your children through our salvation in Christ Jesus, we can be and should be Your examples of leaders in the world today – that Jesus would be seen through our lives which in turn brings glory to You, our LORD and our God. Please let it be so LORD. In Jesus name I pray, amen.