Today’s Scripture Reading (November
17, 2012): Judges 20
Everything
that I have learned in life I have learned from Spiderman – well, maybe not
every lesson, but a lot of them. I feel sorry for those who have never immersed
themselves in the comic saga of Peter Parker, because in the pages of those
comic books are found numerous lessons for life. It is okay to be a wall
flower, because Peter was. It is okay to be smart. I think most adults wonder
at the statement while a lot of smart children know the pain of their
intelligence – but Spiderman was smart. But maybe one of the biggest lessons
was the first lesson, the one that Spiderman learned as he knelt beside his
dying uncle. It was the lesson that pursued him all of his life and it was this
– with great power comes great responsibility. The truth of Peter’s dying uncle
was that Spiderman had the power to stop him from dying, but simply had decided
not to bother. And nothing could take away that pain.
Sometimes I
wonder why people aspire to lead. The repeated truth of life (and of the Bible)
is that leaders have great power, and therefore bear great responsibility. It
is never something that I have ever wanted to aspire to. And there are seldom
lonelier moments than when we I have to don the role of the leader and step out
and take responsibility for something that has to be done. I am never lonelier
than in those moments where, as a leader, I have to confront someone whose
behavior just is not measuring up. Those are not the moments that I look
forward to as a leader.
Jacob
(Israel) set the tribe of Judah up as the future leader of the nation. And
there would be many glory days for the tribe of Judah, but there would also be
the times of great responsibility. As the Tribe of Benjamin stood in need of
being dealt with, it is the Tribe of Judah that God indicated must take the
lead. They are the ones that must bring justice to the nation and confront
their brothers who had committed sin against the nation. Judah must go first.
And later
after Saul, another descendant of Benjamin, had ruled over Israel from Gibeah without
respecting the things of God, it would once more be David and the tribe of
Judah that would need to set things to right.
We are
Christians. We are the followers of another member of the tribe of Judah. And
as Christians we are chosen to lead, to bear the responsibility and set the
world once more to right. We cannot abdicate our responsibility. It is time for
us to lead and be about the task of restoration – no matter what it takes to
get that job done. With great power comes great responsibility. Even Spiderman
knew the truth of that.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges
21
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