Monday, January 16, 2017

The Lifelong Process of Perfection


UV 2177/10000 The Lifelong Process of Perfection
The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
Deuteronomy 28 v 9

The real time perfecting of His people is the work of the Lord. He has already declared us justified and perfect in Christ by faith and by grace. But He also desires a real time perfection, a ‘down-to-earth’ sanctification or purification of all our vessels or faculties- our thoughts, our emotions, our will, our habits, our desires, our responses and reactions, our relationships. He works patiently on us as a jeweller works on his most precious stones, as a metallurgist purifies the ores, as a refiner refines the oil. He sends the Counsellor, the Helper, the Comforter, the Remembrancer, the Holy Spirit to each of us. The manger leader or manager as such is never alone in facing the challenges and difficulties of life and leadership or management. He has divine help from above and from around and from within as He draws strength, power, wisdom and grace from the presence of the Lord. To him, the word “holy” does not being distanced from the world but only a distancing from the evil in his own flesh and in the world and walking in close proximity to the Lord.

Walking with and in the Lord implies talking with Him at all times and in all our ways, seeking His grace, His help and His counsel in all issues of life, big or small. His guideposts, milestones, signboards on his life and leadership path are the commands, precepts and principles of the Lord. He does not walk in the light of his own understanding and knowledge but leans heavily on the Lord for leading and counsel. He implicitly and explicitly obeys the Word.

The first step of our walk with God is trusting in Jesus. Thereafter, He has sworn to help us take each step in this thousand mile journey called life and leadership. We sink in the miry waters the moment we take our eyes off Him and put our confidence in our own mind or strength of flesh as it happened to Peter on the water of the Sea of Galilee when he took his eyes off Jesus. Life and leadership is like walking on water. No clear path is seen except the commands the Lord has given us. The destination is also not visible. We also do not know what awaits us along the way. The only rudder of comfort is that the Lord promises to “be with” us. It is the presence of God with the manger leader that distinguishes him from all other leadership types and styles. The life and leadership of a manger leader is naturally fraught with many risks, dangers and adventures. Manger leadership is life and leadership with no frills or trappings of power and prestige but many thrills. In the process of being “established” or confirmed or perfected by the Lord, he experiences what the natural human eye cannot see or the human ear hear or the human mind conceive or perceive.

Prateep V Philip

2 comments:

  1. Very encouraging words of wisdom.
    Dr Alexander Easow

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful and worth memorising words
    Luke Rathnam

    ReplyDelete