One of the winners of the People’s Choice Awards was the new show, “Heroes.” In our world today people are looking for heroes. I know that, as a pastor, there are those to whom I have looked for help and encouragement. Some of them have been close friends. Others I have only observed from a distance.
One of the latter is the man, Billy Graham. I have never met him. But he has served me as a role model in so many ways. I have read books by and about him, the most recent one just last week. I admire so much about him.
And yet I am reminded in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that I must always be careful not to elevate any man to a position higher than God. While Paul, Peter, Apollos and others may have helped in the early days of the church at Corinth, in chapter 3 Paul reminded those members that it was “God who makes things grow.”
That is good advice, especially when we hear of the fall of a Christian leader. We need to remember that every human being is susceptible to failure in any area of life. As we remember that about ourselves we will be driven to pray for our own holiness. As we remember it about others we will be more likely to depend on God, not on others. None of this is to say that pastors and Sunday school teachers and friends have not been given to us to help us along the way. How grateful we should be for those who have come to guide us in the faith!
But ultimately we must look to the Lord for His guidance. That is why prayer and Bible study are so important. It is in God’s word, and through His Spirit, that we learn to follow Him. I encourage you to look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2). Unlike human heroes, He will never let you down.
Butler wrote this on behalf of the North Bryan Ministerial Association.
One of the latter is the man, Billy Graham. I have never met him. But he has served me as a role model in so many ways. I have read books by and about him, the most recent one just last week. I admire so much about him.
And yet I am reminded in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that I must always be careful not to elevate any man to a position higher than God. While Paul, Peter, Apollos and others may have helped in the early days of the church at Corinth, in chapter 3 Paul reminded those members that it was “God who makes things grow.”
That is good advice, especially when we hear of the fall of a Christian leader. We need to remember that every human being is susceptible to failure in any area of life. As we remember that about ourselves we will be driven to pray for our own holiness. As we remember it about others we will be more likely to depend on God, not on others. None of this is to say that pastors and Sunday school teachers and friends have not been given to us to help us along the way. How grateful we should be for those who have come to guide us in the faith!
But ultimately we must look to the Lord for His guidance. That is why prayer and Bible study are so important. It is in God’s word, and through His Spirit, that we learn to follow Him. I encourage you to look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2). Unlike human heroes, He will never let you down.
Butler wrote this on behalf of the North Bryan Ministerial Association.