Prayer Journal

Sunday, January 25, 2004

What would make someone mourn for the father of their leader except it was respect for that leader? Joseph demonstrated his leadership capabilities in such a way there was no question he was deserving of al the respect the people gave him. When the leader of Egypt mourned for his father, his followers mourned right along with him - for seventy days.

Jesus was a leader too, but he didn't get much respect from a person unless he did something for them. The disciples respected him, but if judged for their dependability, it wouldn't happen until the Holy Spirit came on them later. Peter, the chief disciple, would become the most revered among Jesus' followers, but he must have been quite an enigma to Jesus. Some say he was a classic "open mouth - insert foot" personality.

Note that being a good follower is not so much based on intention as much as it is devotion. Peter would later prove to be a good leader, but there was a time in his life when another leader named Paul had to come along and gently rebuke him much like Jesus did.

Jesus showed us the key to being a good disciple; it's good "followship." He said, "If anyone would come after me, he must take up his cross and follow him." (Mt 16:24) That must have been a curious statement to those who heard it, because while Jesus predicted both his death and resurrection, what did the reference to a cross mean? Remember: looking back we see the cross of Calvary and understand the reference, but they were looking forward. If the truth were known and we had been there we'd probably also scratched our head. Maybe we need to give Peter a little slack.

We place a lot of emphasis today on fellowship within the Body of Christ called the church. Maybe we need to revisit the issue of followship and then we can have the right fellowship with the Lord and each other.

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

1. Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Gn. 50 - Ex. 2:10 Mt.16:13-17:9 Ps. 21 Pr. 5:1-6 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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