Jesus Style Leadership 2 - Love & HeartSample

Sure and Steady Wins

Leadership Lesson

Sure and steady wins the Jesus-style leadership race. It’s character, wisdom, and perseverance that count.

Read Luke 8:4–8.

Comment

Jesus describes four types of soil in this story. Each soil represents a different type of heart for God. The pathway represents a hard heart that has no real desire to please God. The rocky ground represents a shallow heart that wants the blessings but is not willing to pay the cost of following Jesus and therefore falls away. The thorny soil represents a lukewarm heart that eventually chooses other things over Jesus. The fourth soil represents a ‘noble and good’ heart—hearing, retaining, and persevering. These “noble and good” people don’t sound like world-beaters to me. They seem more like plodders—listening to God, doing what is right, gaining respect, serving those who follow them, and persevering day by day, year by year. It all sounds rather mundane and ordinary. But actually, they are the champions, according to Jesus. In Jesus’ day, a hundred times the crop (8:8) was an incredible, impossible, miraculous crop. This is what God does through good hearts. The good soil people persevere faithfully and therefore produce an absolutely incredible crop. Sure and steady wins the race.

Prayer

I’m usually praying for immediate blessing, Lord, and I’ve seen You work quickly and readily. But I understand that the miraculous crop is usually a long journey with many twists and turns. Mostly, it’s about forging my heart as I hear Your voice, retaining Your word and putting it into practice, and persevering through the temptations and challenges. It’s about character and wisdom. I’m claiming Your promise that the eternal results will be amazing.

Personal Reflection

Which soil best describes your heart? What could possibly stop you from persevering in Jesus-style leadership?