Are you the Chosen
One?
King Saul of Israel, dithered. To attack or
not to attack. His men too were getting restless at his
indecisiveness, seeing the Philistine garrison camp across the valley was
ripe for the picking.
God wasn’t answering Saul’s prayers
and Prophet Samuel was missing in action. Hence, the status quo.
Meanwhile, his son
Jonathan, who was at another location, away from where Saul was, told the young
man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these
uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us; for nothing can hinder
the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
And his armor-bearer
said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to; behold, I am with you, as is
your mind so is mine.” (1 Sam 14:7)
And the men of the
garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we
will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after
me; for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”
Then Jonathan climbed
up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they
(Philistines) fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him;
and that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was of
about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of
land.
And there was a panic
in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the
raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic. (1 Samuel
14:1-16)
Nobody is born a
leader. They become a leader when elected or appointed to a leadership
position. Some like Jonathan, King Saul’s son, assume leadership, to do what
needs to be done; not wait for leadership
to be thrust on them.
King Saul, who loved
rituals, waited for Prophet Samuel to come, to make the offering to God, to
get God’s blessing to attack.
Jonathan, on the other
hand, had the confidence in his God, trustingly expressed, “it may be that the
LORD will work for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or
by few.”
They attacked the
camp, just Jonathan and his armor bearer with God on their side.
Their uncharacteristic attack threw the Philistine camp into complete panic.
One essential element
of being a leader is having followers. Without followers, the 'leader'
is only an administrator. To be a leader is something special. Only few
can be leaders. They need to be chosen.
Jonathan was blessed
with an armor bearer (follower), who spoke like a prophet or like God
himself, “Do all that your mind inclines to; behold, I am with you, as is your
mind so is mine.” (1 Sam 14:7)
To be a chosen leader
you need God’s anointing, for sure. The anointing from God, above everything
else, insulates the leader from fear. The bad stress that fear
causes inhibits clear thinking. A mind freed from fear is capable of astounding
achievements. A given expectation from a true leader. With God at hand every
decision is a blessed one. You will not be prey to deceit. Your ways will be
well-ordered.
Saul had the anointing
but he did not live up to the merits of the anointing. He did not execute God’s
directive. He was afraid of his own people deserting him. Not a sign of a
fearless mind confident of God’s presence in his life. Jonathan had what was
missing in Saul. God, however, compensated through Jonathan.
King Saul was appointed
by Prophet Samuel who until then was a Seer and Judge over the people of Israel.
He had grown old and the people were not impressed with Samuel’s sons, who
Samuel had appointed in his place to be Judge over the people.
The people wanted to
be led by a King. That was the case with other nations. Their King fought for
their nations against Israel. By their demand for a king, the Israelites
were rejecting God as their King, who brought them out of Egypt and from
slavery.
God gave Samuel the permission
to give the people a king. Samuel wanted to cling to his authority over the people
and so appointed a Prophet-led King who would do his bidding.
He picked on Saul who
had the personality to be King. Saul was anointed. God’s spirit came upon Saul.
It was clearly a compromised situation. It did not go well. Saul failed God by
not following the instruction to completely annihilate the Amalekites – every
one of them - and not taking any of their possessions. Saul and his people did
not obey God neither in spirit nor in letter. (1 Sam 15:15)
The anointing left
Saul soon enough (and so his dithering when faced with an important decision).
The anointing moved on to a “ruddy’ youth, David, who would become King over a
united Judah and Israel and reign for 40 years.
The anointing never
left David even though he sinned with Bathsheba (David’s Hittite General’s
wife) and ran a census of his people that displeased God. Jesus comes from the
line of David through Joseph and Mary, through their paternal lineage
going up to King David.
The leader must be
endowed with a clarity of mind and purpose and be unstinting in executing God’s
given plans.
Abraham Lincoln was
one such leader. He governed the United States during the toughest part of
American history. He governed with a ‘team of rivals’ who had contested
the presidency against him.
Abraham Lincoln had
the anointing. He was clear-eyed about who can help him achieve
the aim of his presidency. He inducted his 'rivals' into
his cabinet because they were the best he had on hand. He needed the best to
achieve his aim of emancipation of slaves; to abolish slavery forever. Like
Jonathan, Abraham Lincoln took it that God was with him. He read the Word
of God every night and before every important decision. Abraham Lincoln, was
emblematic of ‘servant leadership’.
Jesus, of course,
stands apart, in ‘servant leadership’ and executing God’s plan. He too created
a cabinet of twelve with the most unlikely folks to take his message to the
corners of the world.
Judas, who betrayed
Jesus, and committed suicide from remorse, was replaced, by an intellectual and
a persecutor of Jesus' followers before his conversion at Damascus.
St. Paul was
relentless in taking the message to what we today know as
Europe, and to the gentiles, taking Jesus' teaching beyond the Jews to all
humanity.
The fact that he was
Roman helped take the message to the seat of the empire, which continues today
as the seat of the Roman Catholic church where St Peter's successors
govern the church of over a billion believers.
Jesus' short ministry
on earth of three years followed a strict two-fold plan or pattern: pray and
preach.
We read in Mark
1:35-38 & Luke 4:42-44
Early in the morning,
while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to
pray. Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found Him,
they said, “Everyone is looking for You!”
But Jesus answered,
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that
is why I have come.” So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their
synagogues and driving out demons.
Even though He was Son
of God, He did not seek equality with God, but did what His Father wanted Him
to do.
And, He had a lot to
do.
Heal the sick. Feed
the multitude. Deliver the possessed. Occasionally, raise the dead to life.
Mighty works that overshadowed Jesus' real ministry: to preach ...
always preceded by deep prayer to know God's will for the day.
Miracles, frankly, did
not take much of Jesus’ time. It just happened.
In Luke 17:14, When
(Jesus) saw them (the lepers), he said to them, "Go, show yourselves to
the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed”
The woman with the
ISSUE OF BLOOD touched the helm of His garment and immediately sensed she was
healed. (Luke 8:43-48)
Most times it is Jesus
who initiated and willed the healing. Taken aback by the incidence
of healing without his explicit doing, Jesus asked who
touched him. He appeared visibly weakened as power flowed out of him.
Jesus’ diffidence to
perform the miracle at the wedding feast of Cana, His very first, perhaps arose
from a sense of unpreparedness to perform the miracle, but more importantly, he
sensed or more likely knew that it would trigger His imminent walk on Calvary.
These episodes in the
Bible underscore the importance of prayer to strengthen oneself before a
performing a miracle (or as a corollary to our own life, praying before
undertaking any major task or crucial decision).
This discipline of God's anointing on the decision
is so critical when you are operating in a leadership position.
Jesus invested his
time on teaching. The miracle happened as and when. As an all-knowing God, He
knew that what will get his disciples, you and me, through challenging times is
knowing, understanding and adhering to His teachings.
Jesus’ teachings are
the most precious words ever spoken with 4000 years of history behind it since
Abraham was called to leave his ancestral home and journey to the promise land.
Difficult to put a time to the creation of the universe. Jesus words would
effectively be that many years old.
Such is the weight and
aura of his teachings that how we receive it and what
we do with the teachings we have heard makes
a profound difference to what we achieve on earth - especially
for leaders - who are put in their positions or assume such positions.
We need to hear the
word reverentially, not merely, as a feel-good story. It is not one. Allow it
to soak into our senses. When we breathe in deeply, we can feel the breath
touching every organ, sinew, muscle and vessel in our body. We must take in the
Word of God as with a deep breath. Allow it to touch every part of our
senses. And, most importantly, put it into practice consciously. For practice
leads to perfection of our spirit with the spirit of god.
The miracles brought
attention to Jesus’ words. His teaching was challenging in His time, and is
challenging even now. Knowing and living the Word is
hard. It is like doing a Ph.D. It is a lot of hard work – research and
coursework. But worth the effort for the singular discovery of
the research, to defend it before the jury.
As you would have to,
if ever called before the authorities, to stand up for your belief.
In Daniel 3, we read
about the Jewish exiles, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, appointed by King
Nebuchadnezzar to the highest positions in Babylonian Empire: to oversee the
affairs of the province of Babylon. Along with that exalted responsibility came
the demand to bow to the golden statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They
declined. They were thrown into a fiery furnace “heated seven times more than it
was usually heated”.
The event had a happy
ending.
Nebuchadnezzar saw “…
four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and
the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” His astonishment was
such that he “decree(d): Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything
against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from
limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to
rescue in this way.”
From where comes such
faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their devotion to God?
Most who listened to
Jesus’ teaching, it was water off ducks back (“building on sand”). It did not
stick. Or when it did, it was shaken off. It did not wear well on them. For the
teaching hinged on one word, LOVE. God is Love. Love meant sacrifice – of bad
habits, ego, fears and possessions – of all attachments.
Out of our desperation
for miracles we are willing to go on a limb and do whatever to obtain it –
often straying from the Lord’s teaching itself – going to fortune tellers or
those promising healing through witchcraft. Talk about desperation when the
Word is not in you.
Why do we seek
miracles when we should be seeking The Word? For “In the beginning was The
Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God”.
For God to reach us in
this cacophonous world is becoming increasingly difficult. The distractions are
too many. Wanting to know the Word is a conscious and deliberate decision. It
does not happen just like that. God too must have a hand in it. He must choose
you. God is selective. Only few are chosen.
Are you one of them?
Life is too chilled
for most of us. We have not walked through our ‘valley of darkness’ to desire
the “rod, the staff, and the sling of Our Shepherd” to guide and protect us.
When the ‘storm’ hits we try to do catch up like the five virgins who ran out
of oil when the bridegroom, delayed, but finally showed up. (Matt 25:1-13).
Better late than never.
If admission to
Harvard is hard. Imagine admission to God’s Kingdom through the Word of God.
Harder. Few qualify. Only grace and merit count.
A graduate from
Harvard goes into law, medicine and investment banking. They also become
presidents of the most powerful country in the world.
A graduate from God’s
university goes to win soul for His Kingdom. His or her presidency when his or
her time is up on earth (I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7) is in the most fabulous place in
the universe, Heaven, where not mere mortals, but angels will attend to him or
her.
Given a choice what
would you rather go for your studies and life thereof? And, that’s the hard
choice before us, in a manner of speaking. It means giving up on many things
that can give you ‘worldly joy’ for the eternal joy.
You may make the
choice in a state of euphoria enchanted momentarily by the Word you heard or a
miracle in your own life. But, for the decision to really work out you need to
be chosen.
Intent may exist but
to choose such a path for yourself has its risks. Commitments are
made in a moment of time. Sustaining the commitment is the challenge. On
our own strength it is impossible. We
are not made for the rigor of the commitment
- the dependence on God for our shelter, clothes and provision; the
living in a community and not with our own family, and
conversely, the solitariness of mission work. You need God’s
anointing to walk faithfully to see your mission (His
mission, really) through.
Of ten who choose the
religious path only two make it and one truly lives the vocation.
Are you the one?
