In prayer I was asking God about how we should continue to build the foundations and works He has started and lead us to in and at, The Barn. I was feeling lead and thinking about honor and duty as primary foundational keys and how I could see the positives of those in people's lives. We’ve all heard of honor above all. In kind, I was thinking duty and how duty has been the outward marker of one’s core values and beliefs, the visible expression of our faith to the world.
As I was thinking on these- and felt His leading to do so- He, as often does, lead me to another topic which I had not thought of. Quite away from the topics of honor and duty, it was highlighted, if you will, above and apart from them. That point/topic was loyalty. He told me more important than honor is loyalty! He said honor is great and will carry us through to many a place we desire to go- honor is the vehicle. But loyalty is the destination and the destination has to remain paramount above all else. The vehicle of honor may change at times; it could be a bicycle or a tank. But loyalty will not change!
Loyalty, you see, is the point of reference we use to establish our bearings; our plans and actions will flow from our loyalties! Loyalty stands and guides when we may be tempted to keep honor in a way that leads to self pride. Loyalty calls for forgiveness and long suffering, when honor may scream uphold our dignity at all cost. Loyalty may ask us to lay ourselves down in mercy for someone who is at fault, in fact at times it will, when honor may cry out JUSTICE ALONE!
We are to be loyal to Christ as our source and Head above all other men/women. While we may have leaders, they should always demonstrate and communicate that we as men are all fallible and prone to mistakes. With that said, we should be able to see continued growth in a lifestyle of Christlikeness as that reveals maturity, wisdom, and a deep relationship with Jesus. Loyalties should extend in a way that promotes unity and love to one another in His body, starting with our personal families and extending through to our ministry/church families and out to the whole family of His body!
In this next great move- if we are to accomplish any great work for the Lord- we will need to be onboard with His plan for unity of the body!
I’m not saying I have all or even most of the details on this but I do believe this is crucial and key to our success in this present age where the “church” is very fractured. Yes, please pray and seek God’s will and mind for your perspective on this as well. It’s all of our unique perspectives that bring the WHOLE picture to life!