Yesterday in my church, we began a new leadership development program for all people who want to be developed to lead through the DREAM* of our church. They are called LIDs…Leaders in Development. Our first class was great. Not because I was teaching it but because most if not all of the people who showed up were hungry for what God would have them do next in their life as they progress towards destiny fulfillment.
One of their assignments for class is to begin a blog. Two have already been posted here and here and well, I’m so pleased with the summaries. But most of all, I’m so thrilled with the way they are rolling up their sleeves already and how they are willing to invest in themselves to “do this thing right”. Our program is once a month for five months so it’s a time investment and that doesn’t include the time involved in shadowing a ministry, doing a ministry project, reading two books and doing a presentation to the class. My husband knowing me as good as any other human in this life can sent me a text today that said:
( 8/29 at 11:31 AM)”I just read the blog (speaking of Alba’s blog)…you must be grinning from ear to ear and very proud of what’s developing in the LIDS group…” my answer…very proud…these are going to be my diamonds”
I feel like a proud momma but this is why I say that. In Psalm 16:3 we read: “As for the saints of the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.”
David didn’t just forgive God’s people; he didn’t just tolerate the saints; he delighted in them. How can we do the same? I think the key is seeing them the way God sees them: Diamonds in the rough.
In Exodus 28:17 God commanded Moses to make an ephod with four rows of three precious stones each. The stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel and the priest was to remember that this was how God felt about His people by wearing this ephod over his heart whenever he came into God’s presence. Four rows – three in each row – ruby, topaz, emerald; turquoise, sapphire, diamond; jacinth, agate, amethyst; beryl, onyx, jasper – the saints are God’s jewels.
A frequent accusation against believers and argument against the truth of Christianity is hypocrisy. When an unbeliever sees a so-called Christian fall short of their expectation, they say out loud or think to themselves: “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian! Hypocrite!”
But the authentic Christian doesn’t claim to be only a diamond, but a diamond in the rough. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”, says the apostle Paul, “so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2Cor. 4:7) We have a sin nature, we have a struggle going on inside of us, but we also have a new nature and are part of a new creation.
Our responsibility toward one another is to look past the rough and start seeing and speaking to the diamond or as our Lead Pastor would say, the greatness within us. Christians often focus on the wrong thing and get paralyzed by sin and shame – their own, and that of their brothers and sisters.
But seriously, can we look past the rough? Peter exhorts us: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1Peter 4:8) Don’t you want others to love you like that? We can’t excuse sin (and I am certainly not advocating for that) but after confession, we dare not dwell on it, or we will miss what God is seeing.
And I see these new LIDs in our midst at STN as answered prayer because we certainly prayed them in. God knows where He has set the vision up in the heart of our Lead Pastor and his wife, my job is to help him get there by training “healthy leaders” who will take STN to the nations…who will work locally and globally for the sake of the cause. I see greatness…I see diamonds and I’m honoured, grateful and humbled to have a small part in polishing them for the glory of God!
