Great leaders share the hardships of their soldiers and fight alongside them, until the battle ends.When I was fighting in a war on our borders, the officers would strip off their pips (their rank insignia) as soon as we went on operations.
This was to ensure that officers did not become selected targets for snipers and to save them in the event they should get captured.
Famous leaders throughout history have done similar things, for various reasons. The Duke of Wellington ate what his men ate, slept where they slept and endured what they endured, marking him as one of the greatest of all military commanders.
Irwin Rommel, the desert fox of North Africa and leader of Germany’s Afrika Korps, was an outstanding leader who only fell to General Montgomery because he over-extended his supply lines. He was respectful towards his captives and a gentleman in battle, but most of all he was a master of the “lead from the front” school. He wrote a book with the same title, arguing that good leaders must lead their men into battle and not pull rank, sit in safety and order men to do what they would not do.
Moshe Dayan, the famous Jewish, one-eyed general of the Israeli wars of occupation had the same philosophy and insisted in riding in the lead vehicle so he could be the first to confront the enemy. The dying Ariel Sharon was cut from the same cloth.
The white witch of Narnia was typical of the other school. She drove her hordes against the armies of King Peter, whilst riding behind or in the centre of her forces. But Peter rode ahead of his forces and eventually the forces of Narnia prevailed, albeit with a little help from Aslan, the great lion of Narnia.
The point behind all this is that in our present struggles Jesus has taken His place alongside us. He has stripped off His kingly robes and His insignia, to ride with us into battle and to share our struggles. Thus He shares our yoke, never expecting us to bear such burdens alone. When we see Him, we will surely bow to Him, as Legolas bowed to Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings. But, a look of intimate knowing will pass between us in the sweet recollection of times when we have shared fox holes, faced exposure or fought side-by-side against our common foe.
Be encouraged … He will never forsake you.
© Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/
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