So much of the Christian faith is about how to live in the
present moment. The past is forgiven and future is in God’s hands. This leaves
the present for each one of us to live out the “blessed life” today.
Anticipation
of future bliss for the Christian was never meant to minimize impact of living
now! There is something “blessed” about living life to its fullest potential to
the glory of God in the here and now. Our relationship with God now is
paramount to our existence!
Our very
existence means being light in a dark world as our mission. The “bliss” of
being light means we have a heart and a passion for sharing that light. We
offer the joy of “seeing” to those who cannot see. We are leading them by the
arm gently into the light, as we would take the arm of a blind person today and
gently do the same thing.
Christian
“blessedness”, joy and bliss is never presented in the New Testament as
escapism. The apostle Paul gives us a good example of how to keep the present
in perspective:
16 So we do
not lose heart. Though our outer self is
wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of
glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are
unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are
unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
One of the
blessings of this present “divine bliss” is having this perspective of “eternal
weight of glory beyond all comparison.” In the midst of discouragement, in this
midst of signs of aging, in the midst of afflictions, this eternal vision is
the foundation of our divine bliss now!
How does all of this fit with
Christian transformational leadership? To begin with, such leaders enable
others to not lose heart. Morale building, encouragement, support and
collaborative work allows the leader to step forward and provide models and
mentoring so that others can “feel the wind beneath their wings!”
Christian transformational leaders
also provide a good model for how to gracefully accept the process of aging and
letting go of the temporal things of this life. At the same time, paradoxically,
such leaders demonstrate how important it is to be a faithful steward in the
present moment of opportunities.
Finally, a Christian
transformational leader will offer an alternative model of how to experience
afflictions, trouble and obstacles in daily living. No escapism or blaming
here. Rather, like the apostle Paul, an approach that prayerfully reflects a
willingness to allow the power of God to work through our own weaknesses. More
than any others, such leaders are aware of the possibility every day whereby
God can work through our problems if we are submissive to the divine will. This
becomes part of the daily bliss experienced in living…seeing God working
through our frail humanity for the unfolding of the kingdom in this world.
May God give
us eyes to see this!
In Christian
love, Curtis
