Christ. The perfect leader.

Have you ever tried to teach someone something and they just weren't getting it? I have. In fact I've been doing it for the last three weeks, and yesterday I found myself at the end of my rope. You see as the day shift supervisor of my Ordnance shop, I have found myself in a position that I've never been in before. I have seven brand new people who have never loaded ordnance on airplanes in their life, and I'm stuck teaching them how to do it in one of the most dangerous environments possible. Some of them are picking it up faster than I had expected and some are making consistent progress. Still, others are stagnant in their development of skills that seem so easy to me. It all culminated yesterday when one of these individuals made me so angry that I snapped and yelled at them. Not exactly the best display of Christianity. I felt horrible afterwards, and I've been praying and praying that God would help be learn patience. This morning, as I stood on the bow of this great ship collecting my thoughts before we started our day I realized how much my walk with Christ is like these kids that just aren't getting it, and how God is my supervisor. He is constantly teaching me and showing me the right way to live. He gives me resources beyond imagine, where I can find the answers to just about anything. Yet somehow I manage to mess up on a regular basis. God has never yelled at me. He has ever screamed in frustration and told me that he gives up on me. He just understands and helps me get back on track. As I'm writing this another similarity dawned on me. It seems like whenever one of my guys gets in trouble, I end up getting yelled at. I'm the one in the hot seat. But that's my job. To cushion the blow of the mistake so that my personnel won't become discouraged. How amazing is it that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave his life so that we could still achieve the ultimate position of being in heaven with God someday. How discouraging would it be to know that we are sinners and could never make it to heaven, had Jesus not given his life in our place. It's pretty humbling to a leader to realize the standard that God has set for us. What better example than Christ himself. More to follow as my random thoughts continue....