Learning To Release Our Control As Leaders From Examples of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
A few weeks ago I started walking through the scriptures of Luke, highlighting the powerful story of Jesus Christ in this Gospel book. In the process, I have been reminded of key leadership principles Jesus continually exhibited.
Throughout the book of Luke, the author wants us to see Jesus as a man even though he was without sin. The stories of His childhood reveal that Jesus grew physically, mentally and spiritually - the saving grace of God was upon Him. Jesus relinquished His control over things to the Holy Spirit. We can see through His life that He had to learn things like we do. We see Jesus praying, seeking the will of His father and relying on God. Viewing Jesus in this way is encouraging because we know that He understands our struggles, temptations and what life on earth is truly like.
Even Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, obeyed the Father and followed His will. Seeing Jesus’ example is a great reminder for us to release our control to God. I find it tempting to keep a tight grip on situations, rely on my own instincts and try to work through challenges on my own - especially when high levels of stress or pressure are involved. Control is dangerous because it not only makes us believe we are self-sustaining but can also steer us to being forceful, demanding and lacking in compassion and the ability to listen to those around us. When we give up our control and lean into the Father, knowing that He is steadfast and fulfills all promises, which we can believe because of the prophecies completed in Luke, we are able to follow the will that God has for our lives.
We look to leaders for guidance on how we should carry ourselves so we can best lead those on whom we have an influence. While there is a multitude of wonderful leaders we can look to, some who are followers of Christ and some who are not, we must continue to be in the Word of God and look to Jesus for our ultimate direction. I encourage you to note the characteristics of Jesus that Luke details, revisiting them often to see if you are leading those around you in a way that models Christ.
If you want to learn more, I encourage you to join me on my podcast as we spend more time reading and unpacking this book. This text reveals how the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies that we know of because of scripture of the Old Testament - we see how the life of Jesus brought hope as God delivered the Messiah just like He promised.
You can listen to my podcast for free by visiting the link.