Leading with Love

The greatest characteristic of leadership is love. In fact, Christ-centered leadership is rooted in God’s love for you. Whether you are an elected, appointed, anointed, or a self-proclaimed leader, love is at the center of effective and courageous leadership.

Authentic Christ-centered leadership, shaped by the love of God, is about everything you say and do, from your character to your influence on the people around you.

Just as followers need leaders of compassion, they need and want leaders whose compassion grows out of love for them. They need and want leaders who love them for who they are more than for what they produce.  

John, in his story of the good news of Jesus, gives us a clue to God’s love and the love needed for effective, impactful, and courageous leadership.

Read John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Reflect on John 3:14-21

The good news, according to John, is, “If you have seen Jesus, you have seen God.” Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus says to the disciples, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” A theme intertwined with John’s good news is “God is love.” Again, Jesus tells his disciples, “Love one another as I have loved you. By this people will know you have my disciples.”

From these two lenses, let’s look at the words John uses in this scripture.  

God’s Love

The word for love is “agape.” It is used to describe God’s love for humanity and all creation. It is the kind of love that is rooted in God’s grace. So, it is always working for the well-being and good of others in response to God’s goodness. It is a sacrificial love seen in acts of compassion and empathy based upon a response to God’s love rather than whether I feel it.

The word “so” can mean “so much” but its primary meaning is “in this way” or “in this manner.” While God’s love is indescribably infinite, the point here is not the quantity of God’s love but the quality of God’s love. It is not about how much God loves us but how God loves us.

God so loved the world, God gave. Our love wants to hold onto who and what we love. God’s love is seen in the giving and the sharing of life. You can choose to give and share your life as a Christ-centered leader.

The world is often pictured as hostile to God, but it is also God’s creation. God loves all creation, including even those who have rebelled against God. God’s love is a model for Christian love. As a Christ-centered leader, you can choose to love as God has loved you.

God’s Self-Giving Love

The words “Gave his…Son” are not so much about God sacrificing or punishing someone for the sins of humanity. It is about God’s self-giving love. This fits the theme of “if you have seen Jesus, you have seen God.” God giving his Son is God giving himself.

The word “Only” in the Greek means “unique” or “the only one of its kind.” Here is something to consider, in the Latin it is translated “only begotten,” as though it had to do with the birth of Jesus. John is not interested in the birth of Jesus and has no doctrine of the virgin birth. For John, Christians are begotten or born from God, but Jesus is the unique Son of God.

Trust and Obey God’s Action

The words “Whoever believes” refer to belief or unbelief as a human possibility and responsibility. Often this gets combined with the statements about conversion as being born “from above.” Here is where choices shape perspectives regarding leadership.

When pictured as birth, conversion is the gift of God, the result of God’s choice and initiative for which you and I can only give thanks. When pictured as faith, conversion is the result of human decision and responsibility. These two views are put beside each other but not combined or harmonized in John’s gospel.

Believe carries with it the choice to trust and obey God’s action. To trust God is to live the life God created you to live. What is interesting is that the word “obey” means to listen. So, as a Christ-centered leader, you have the choice to listen to God and live as God created you to live.

The words “In him” when used as “believes in him,” is not a question on whether belief is in God or in Jesus. For John, God and Jesus (the Christ) are one in the same. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen God.

New Order of Living

The words “perish,” and “eternal life” go together. Eternal life does not mean an endless extension of this life, but refers to a new order of living, a quality of life with God, of becoming whole and complete in God’s love.

Perish does not mean physical death but is the opposite of eternal life. So, to perish does not mean to die, but means to live a life other than what God has created you to live. If you choose to live a life outside of God’s love for you and for others, you will lead the same way. Your leadership will be less than quality, without integrity, authenticity, or hope. 

When you read the words “Not condemned” and “condemned already” John is emphasizing the present action more than the future or last day. So, you and I reveal or show who we really are by the choices we make in our living and leading.

Living Your Life

In Jesus, understanding has come into the world. John writes it this way, “Light has come into the world” God did not send the Son, the Light, to condemn the world, but the coming of the light inevitably cast shadows, and people must choose whether to remain in darkness or to live in the light. The choice is made in how you will live your life regarding God’s action on your behalf. The light reveals your choice.

The words “Those who do what is true” refers to another theme in John’s good news. For John, truth is not an abstraction that may be possessed, but a relationship to God that is a matter of your living and your loving. You reveal who you are by the choices you make.

And who you are is how you lead.

Respond

Be aware of the people around you today. Look for ways to love others as you have been loved by God. How will you work for the good of others? How will you draw them into a closer relationship? Be aware of what needs to happen in your life to love others as God in Jesus has loved you. As you experience the depths of God’s love, you will become more who God has created you to be.

Pray

O God, help me love the people you send my way today. Fill me with a love so deep that I am not only moved but I make a conscious decision to work for the good of others. By your grace, help me respond to your love of me with love for the people around me. I place myself at your disposal, in the name of Jesus. Amen

Return

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. In whom did you see Jesus? In what situations did you decide to respond in love? What did you learn about yourself? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the experiences that have helped you become who God created you to be. Remember, who you are is how you lead.