Why Jesus is The Perfect Leader

I watched this video on leadership today and I was stunned at how much of it sounded like Jesus.

One of the first things the speaker said particularly caught me: "Leadership has nothing to do with rank."

We, in our sinfulness, look for every opportunity to achieve a rank. Sometimes, we even view being a Christian as a rank in itself above those unbelievers who we see as more sinful than us. We can call ourselves a Christian just like we can call ourselves a leader, but that doesn't automatically make us alive in Christ.

Christ, the perfect leader, is the only one who can lead us to true life.

Jesus is the perfect leader because he disregarded his rank for the sake of those under him. Jesus, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV) Christ, being fully God from the beginning, did not use his standing to take advantage of people. Rather, he made himself low in order to lift up humankind. We can be lifted up today not because of anything we can use for our own advantage, but because of Christ. May we humble ourselves and truly believe that he is the only way to salvation!

"...While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV) Jesus, in love for us, gave up his very life for and to us. It was never about us deserving it or working our way to it, and we deceive ourselves if we act as if we can become a truer Christian simply by acting right. He gave himself to us freely because he loves us and wants to lead us to a life infinitely better than we could know otherwise. That life can only come through him.

Christian, join me in thinking about this today - that true success and true leadership comes not from high rank or high status, but from love and self-sacrifice, something that Christ perfectly did for us. In Christ, we know we are infinitely provided for because of his full and complete sacrifice for us on the cross.