Luke 11 -- Leaders Who Failed To Lead

It was amazing that Jesus’ followers had to ask:  “Lord, teach us to pray…”  They were all Jewish – members of a nation that God had called to be His own and set apart.  He’d walked them through the desert for 40 years – training time for reigning time.  They’d seen evidence of His presence before them in the pillar of fire and the covering cloud deflecting the hot desert sun.  They’d heard Him speak!  Yet they’d failed at learning to speak to him – what should be the most natural thing we can do!

Jesus laid the blame for this squarely on the religious leaders of that day.  They’d been so proud to be Jewish that it didn’t matter what they did.  Jesus corrected their misconceptions:

“The people who live today are evil … You Pharisees … inside you are full of greed and evil … you fail to be fair to others and to love God … you are like hidden graves [people will unknowingly touch them and become ritually unclean as a result]…”

Jesus also attacked the teachers of the Law: 

“You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey, but you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules … You have taken away the KEY to learning about God.  You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.”

They wanted to greedily hold those keys for their own prestige.

I think about how much I love to teach about God.  I remember too many Sunday School and Training Union classes which left me with nothing.  The instant I left the room, the teachings left as well.  So I try to make it all so interesting that the youth I teach can’t help but remember it.  Failure is not an option.  How I’ve seen God work in the lives of so many youth over the years, helping them stay connected to Him despite being in the world.  That’s what it’s all about, and it galls me to think people were looking up to these “leaders” and getting nothing in return.

Father, thank You for sharing with me ways to teach youth about You.  Thank You for giving me a passion for them.  When I question, please remind me of all those who’ve come and gone and still remain in You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford