Having the Light, Shine It Brightly For Those Coming After You
Let others see your successes, your failures, your do’s and your redo’s. Then they will have an established path to avoid the pitfalls you had to discover on your own. To be sure, they will discover other pitfalls you did not find. But it will allow them to go farther and accomplish more because of what you have done for them.
One can contrast a couple of biblical texts for this distinction between not knowing and knowing the way. The first is from Proverbs and the second is from the Gospel of John. Without doing an exegesis of the texts, the point I am wanting you to make is the contrast between them regarding something about the “way”.
Proverbs 30:18-19, NIV
- “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:
- the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman.
In this text, it is mysterious, and things described can navigate where there is no path, or possibly they leave no path to be followed. Here is an explanation of popular though for this text found in The Bible Knowledge Commentary.
Proverbs 30:18-19
- Four Amazing Things (Pro_30:18-19)
What do the ways of an eagle in the sky… a snake on a rock… a ship in the ocean, and a man with a woman have in common? Some writers say the ways of these four are mysterious; others say their ways are untraceable; others suggest that they each easily master an element that is seemingly difficult. Another suggestion is that they each go where there are no paths. “The way of a man with a maiden” refers to a man’s affectionate courting of a woman.
In the second text Jesus’ disciples seem about as bewildered as the writer of the Proverbs. But Jesus takes great care in explaining to them where the path can be found. He is the I AM. He is the Path. Jesus is the Way and the only Way. Staying in this Way, one cannot help but be on course.
John 14:4-21, NIV
- You know the way to the place where I am going.”
- Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
- Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
- Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
- Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
- Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
- Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
- And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
- “If you love me, keep my commands.
- And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever–
- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
- I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
- Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
- On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
- Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
From the same commentary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, these words describe this text.
John 14:5-6
Thomas’ statement (We don’t know where You are going) and his question (So how can we know the way?) reflected the perplexity of the Eleven (cf. Peter’s similar question; Joh_13:36). They would remain puzzled until His death and resurrection and until the advent of the Spirit. They had all the information but they could not put it together.
Jesus’ words, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, are the sixth of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John (Joh_6:48; Joh_8:12; Joh_10:9, Joh_10:11; Joh_11:25; Joh_14:6; Joh_15:1). Jesus is the “Way” because He is the “Truth” and the “Life.” As the Father is Truth and Life, Jesus is the embodiment of God so people can come to the Father (cf. Joh_1:4, Joh_1:14, Joh_1:18; Joh_11:25). By His words, No one comes to the Father except through Me, Jesus stressed that salvation, contrary to what many people think, is not obtainable through many ways. Only one Way exists (cf. Act_4:12; 1Ti_2:5). Jesus is the only access to the Father because He is the only One from the Father (cf. Joh_1:1-2, Joh_1:51; Joh_3:13).
Even though the disciples could not understand the explanation or teaching, Jesus was giving, Jesus knew a time would come when it would become clear to them and was content to leave it for that time. Jesus modeled for them the Way by letting them know he was also following a specific course, the Way of the Father.
It Is Said: “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.”
Here is a short explanation about that. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an English language adage meaning that complex and sometimes multiple ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, which conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description.
Most people accept this as true. A similar understanding is that a person modeling something to be learned and practiced is better than ten thousand words.
In your leadership, you may not have the time to write down everything you want your disciple leaders to know and practice. Jesus didn’t take time to do that, you know, and his leadership turned out to be the best leadership of all time. But one thing he did. Jesus modeled for his disciples what it meant to be in the Way. You can do that, not as perfectly as Jesus Christ. But as your model, you can practice the same Way Jesus taught.
As leaders serving other leaders, it behooves us to model the same leadership which we follow, Jesus Christ and the disciples of Jesus Christ. Let those you influence clearly see Jesus in you and Jesus working through you. They may not immediately understand everything you do. But by the same Holy Spirit presence that empowered the disciples of Jesus two thousand years ago, those you influence will likewise be enlightened at the appropriate moment. Be the ambassador of Jesus Christ you have been called to be.
