Line Leading

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

A soror of mine said something that brought a beautiful memory to my mind. While serving as a substitute teacher, she promised one little boy that he could be the line leader. He’d asked her the day prior and while someone else beat him to the punch, she didn’t forget about his request and thereby kept her promise to him. I too enjoyed being the line leader in elementary school. It represented a trustworthy role, with weighted responsibility. It required one to be fearless. As I reflect upon 2025, I feel like I must have volunteered as Tribute and have operated in a perpetual state of being the line leader. I was fully prepared to lament this reality but then I remembered Luke 12:49. I used to lovingly quote Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given, much is required;” and then I learned the verse that follows, “and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” If we believe in God’s Word, it should not surprise us that in life, in seasons, we will be “invited” to be the line leader, over and over again - and if we are smart, we will comply. Here’s why.

Let’s lean into “they will ask more.” I recall one time my mother said, “Why can’t they get somebody else?” For the life of me I cannot tell you or recall who or what she was referring to. That’s because I keep a “yes” in my spirit. But I can also admit that God has blessed me tremendously. So, it is not surprising that the cost associated with His goodness may present as “an ask for more.” Like you, I do not comply so that God can pour into my life - I consider saying yes as my reasonable service. I’m grateful that He entrusts me with the promises He’s made to others while additionally blessing me in the process - even when “it” doesn’t show up in the manner I imagined. God doesn’t make mistakes. If He’s called us to it, He will see us through it. As parents, we provide opportunities that are challenging to our offspring so that they build the capacity to endure. And in that muscle building, they are even more prepared for the next challenge. We are no exception as children of the Most High God. He too provides us with opportunities masked as “problems” to build our reservoir; and in doing so, we build the confidence through Him to serve as line leader in life.

If the Lord tarries we may as well prepare ourselves for more “line leading” in 2026. And we might even be bold enough to follow the lead of the child in my soror’s classroom and ask for the position rather than having it thrust upon us. People are hurting but also people just need someone to walk in community with them - just as was done for us. Further we don’t choose our followers and we cannot orchestrate their behavior to align with our desired or preferred state. We must model but also never forget the times when we were out of sync. May we always have a testimony tucked in our hand to freely share when we too chose to go in a different direction and that had it not been for the grace of God we don’t know where we’d be. Thank God for sustaining us and may God continue to equip us with leading with humility and patience and love as the new year presents.