Has anyone ever laid down their life for yours?
I don’t mean in an ultimate way, but has anyone ever sacrificed for you in such a fashion that you were changed?
The summer before my senior year in college myself and a few of my fraternity brothers spent a few days in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. One afternoon I decided to swim out to the sandbar that was just off shore. I underestimated the distance, the depth, and the current. When I arrived I could not stand up and I was completely exhausted. The shore looked so small and distant as to be a complete non-reality for haven. I was already taking in enough sea water to feel nauseous. It was taking all I could muster to gasp for a breath of air between the waves.
I was going to drown.
Mike saw me struggling with my head barely above the wake. He came to my rescue. He came and wrapped his arm around my chest and slowly and surely pulled me back against the current and back to shore. It seemed like it took forever. Mike was now exhausted too. But I was alive.
Mike had risked his life for mine.
He had sacrificed his will, his strength, and his logic so that I might live.
I have pondered that event many times. I have rarely shared this experience, but it did change me. I wondered why God allowed me to live. I thoughtfully considered my ultimate purpose in life. How was I suppose to live? How was I suppose to lead? How do I do for others what Mike did for me?
Servant leadership must contain a sacrificial element to it.
It is not really servant leadership unless one is willing to sacrifice something for the sake of the one being served. It may be time. It may be reputation. It may be some aspect that is far more costly. But sacrifice is required so that the one being served and led is impacted in such a positive way that they will never be the same. This usually doesn’t take place in one act, but happens in fully connected and sequential moments that leave a profound impression. The one being led is marked and changed. They will never be the same.
In John 10:1-18 Jesus proclaims that he is the Good Shepherd.
What is required of a such a shepherd? Twice Jesus says that he is the “door.” Three times he states that he will “lay down his life.” The imagery is that of a sheep pen in the wilderness. These were rudimentary dwellings constructed out of branches, briars, and rocks. They were temporary shelters for the sheep at night in between pastures. Sheep are incredibly vulnerable animals, given to self-destruction as much as being overcome by enemies. The sheep pens were meant to ward off would be predators through the night. They were always constructed in a U-shape, with an opening at one end. This was the entry and exit point for the sheep. When every sheep was accounted for and it was time to bed down for the night, the shepherd would lay down and sleep at the entrance. This was to make sure that none escaped and none were attacked. The shepherd laid down his life for the sake of the sheep. Jesus was using this metaphor to depict what he was ultimately going to do on the cross. His life for ours. Salvation secured. None will escape and none will be truly destroyed. The leader laying down his life for those that were his and for those he leads.
What does that look like for us?
It may call for a heroic act on our part. But most likely it will require many smaller sacrifices in a long succession of service to impact those we lead. To keep them from drowning. To see them survive and succeed as future leaders. The path will be unique for each of us.
That is sacrificial leadership.
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