Do You Know Who You Are?

Men love to read stories about those who excell in their particular sport. I want to share a story about one of the great boxers, Joe Louis. This is another story from "Stories for a Man's Heart".

Joe Louis was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 until he retired in 1949. During his time of service in the army, Louis was driving with a fellow GI when he was involved in a minor collision with a large truck. The truck driver got out, yelling and swearing at Louis, who just sat in the driver's seat, smiling. "Why didn't you get out and knock him out?" asked his buddy after the truck driver had moved on. "Why should I?" replied Joe. "When somebody insulted Caruso, did he sing an aria for him?"

This is a great illustration about knowing your identity. The truck driver clearly did not know the real identity of the person he was cursing, for if he had, he would have treated him in a dramtically different way! On the other hand, Joe Louis knew who he was--the best boxer in the world--and therefore he had nothing to prove.

For those of us who are leaders we should ponder how this story is relevant to us. Personally for me if I know who I am and am secure in that identity I will be more likely to trust others to be who they are. I will not need to outshine them, upstage them, overshadow them, or have the last word. Knowing who I am gives me the freedom to allow them to be free.

In Mark 6: 7-13 we read about the 12 disciples being sent out by Jesus. It says He gave them authority over unclean spirits; and instructed them. Then they went out to preach, to cast out demons and to heal. Notice it does not say Jesus went with them. He trusted that once they were equipped and empowered they would perform so He released them to service.

Too often leaders are not secure in who they are and so they equip and empower but never release people to service. They instead equip people, verbally say they have empowered them and then stnad right behind them watching their every move to make sure they do it their way.

God did not create robots and neither should we leaders. Jesus equipped and empowered servant leaders who later equipped and empowered servant leaders. Shouldn't we be doing the same thing?

Are You Jesus to Another Person?

I read a story in "Stories for a Man's Heart" that I would like to share. It goes something like this: Five salesmen were at a conference and they had all told their wives they would be home in time for dinner after the conference was over. The conference ran a little late but each man hurried off to the airport to catch the train home.

They were in such a hurry that as they passed by a stand with apples set up by a boy one of them knocked the stand over.  They ran through the terminal and were just boarding their train when one of the men stopped and asked one of the guys to phone his wife and let her know that he would be late. He turned and went back through the terminal and out to where the boy's stand was.

Apples were scattered all over the area and the boy who was blind was on his knees trying to find them. The man bent down and helped him round the apples up. As he was placing them on the stand the man noticed that several were damaged so he opened his wallet and gave the boy a twenty dollar bill. As he turned to leave he heard the boy ask, "Sir, are you Jesus?"

I encourage you to take the time today to be Jesus in the life of someone by doing something out of the ordinary so that God can perform the extra-ordinary.