I have been reading lately about Moses and the Israelites, and something huge stood out at me: whenever the Israelites sinned, Moses and Aaron knew the wrath of God was about to come down on the people (and often times it did!) BUT.... Moses and Aaron would plead over the lives of the people, they would tear their clothing and weep over the sin the people had committed, begging God to spare them from His wrath.
They wept over the people's sin.
They pleaded with God over the lives of the people.
When is the last time we prayed over the people God has placed in our care? Not a generic "Lord be with everybody and help them know You" type of prayer but a heartfelt prayer over the individual and what God is doing in their life?
When is the last time you have paid attention enough to the lives of the individuals and have found yourself broken over their choices to disobey God?
When is the last time you pleaded with God over the individuals He has placed in your life?
When was the last time?
My heart hurt as I pondered these things. It's not that I believe that we as leaders don't love our people, why would we put ourselves through all the heartache that often comes with ministry if we didn't love people right? But what I am beginning to question in my life and in other leaders as well is... do we really REALLY love our people?
Do you know that God was (and still is) fierce when it came to keeping His Children away from sin and wickedness? Right? I mean He literally destroyed ENTIRE NATIONS because He didn't want them influencing His people. That's pretty huge. We definitely send a different message to our people today don't we? In fact, we now encourage people to get involved in (we like to call them "worldly" but really, the correct word is "sinful") things. We tell our people to go INTO the world in order to reach people for Jesus, and yes, we cannot seclude ourselves, we are to "Be the light"... but, we need to help redefine those lines according to God's heart and not our desire to "play at making disciples".
Sounds harsh, I know, because it is a harsh reality. We have people pouring sin into their lives and they are so desensitized to it that they have no idea that their spiritual life is dying. The scarier part pastor, shepherd, teacher, leader....do we even notice anymore?
It's time.
It's time we start recognizing and calling out sin. It's time we start explaining the things that break God's heart and causes separation from Him. It's time we start speaking truth and life against the darkness and deceit that has taken up residency in the hearts of our people.
How can we honestly understand God's heart for us, and then stand back and idly watch the people He's placed in our care, simply go about their lives knowingly or unknowingly doing things which grieve the heart of God?
If we love them, then not only will we pray over them but we will pursue the path God has for them. We will not only invest our time, but our hearts as well as we begin to do a better job at noticing who God has placed in our care. And then....we fight friends, we fight against the demonic that tries to destroy lives, that twists the truth that sends people chasing lies that sound holy but aren't. We fight against the laziness in our relationships with God, we encourage people to take God seriously. We get on our faces and plead over the people He has placed in our care....why? Because really, anything less is unacceptable for someone who wants the responsibility of leading God's people... don't you think?
I have been guilty of this as well friends. It's easy to just get into our "routines" of leading... but God's heart isn't really that we find the easiest way or "do what works for most people"... we must see the individual. The one God created, the one Jesus died for, the one the Holy Spirit wants to transform... and we must fight for them, because this is leadership. God has called us to care for His people. We do this humbly as we realize all that is at stake if we don't. Press on leaders...press on!
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