Foundations of Life and Leadership

UV 1570/10000 The Foundations of Life and Leadership
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11 v 10
God is our creator as well as redeemer. He is also the architect and builder of our lives. Many people build the superstructure of their lives and then go looking for a good foundation to lay under it. Their family lives, their health, their finances, their lifestyles would be in such a mess they would have little or no clue how to come out of the crisis. Abraham made sure that the foundation of his life was the God who revealed Himself as Jehovah, the person of Persons. Faith was the foundation of his life. The foundation of his life was the promises spoken by God to him. The foundation of his life was his own trust and obedience to the commands or direction in which God led him. Faith was the vehicle that carried his vision, his burdens, his hopes, his whole life. Faith enabled him to look beyond the limits and boundaries of his earthly sojourn and existence to an eternal city, the kingdom of God, the city that is the Father’s house and yet has many mansions built and being designed and built for the children who adopted or were adopted by God as His children.

Normally, a whole city does not have a common foundation as it is built building by building. Hence, when an earthquake occurs, most of the buildings shake and fall. But the uni-verse talks of a city which is perfectly planned, executed, built and watched over. It will not be shaken. It will not be taken. It will not be vulnerable. The parallel for this uni-verse is Psalm 127 v 1 : “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who build it. Except the Lord watch over the city, the watchmen watch in vain.” This verse confirms the bemoaning of the philosopher of Ecclesiastes that all is vanity in the absence of the Lord being involved in building our lives and in watching over us. God is the model leader and we can learn the art of consummate leadership only by studying the patterns of God’s leadership of the patriarchs and of Israel and of the church in the new covenant age. Leadership with a rock solid foundation should be based on faith in God. From a position of acceptance, we will move to a position of excellence and from a position of excellence to a position of exception. Faith will make us exceptional people. It will cause God to marvel even as Jesus marvelled at the faith of many Gentiles like the centurion. The principles of righteousness embedded in the Word are the plumbline for the building of every nook, corner and wall of our lives.
Yet another parallel verse is Matthew 5 v 14 “ You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Light or positive influence is always emanating from faith-based and faith-led leaders. The Lord intends to place us on a pedestal so that all can see and be influenced. Our lives beckon people who are lost to a life of faith-based security, faith-derived power and strength, faith-produced vision. Elevation, enlargement and illumination are three concomitant aspects of faith-based leadership. We are watched over by the Lord and hence, we cannot be conquered or defeated. We are like an impregnable fortress city built on a hill. The designs, blueprint or roadmap for our lives are prepared by the Lord and hence, is bound to be perfect. We are built to divine design. Nothing happens by mere chance or accident. We need to only look intently and search diligently like Abraham and we will be elevated and illuminated.

Prateep V Philip