Life as a Blank Sheet of Paper

One of my favorite writers, A.W. Tozer, once wrote that people who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks :

1. They are facing only one direction
2. They can never turn back
3. They no longer have plans of their own

Source: Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel, 1987, Word, 187

The last mark strikes a chord within my heart. It says that we need to have a clean slate. No personal ambition, no future plans of our own making. Our new life in Christ is a like a blank sheet of paper. We should be holding out that blank sheet of paper, signing our name at the bottom, then praying: "God, fill it in as You will.”

Consecrate and Concentrate

A young man once heard British evangelist Henry Varley said in his sermon:

The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.

The young man was well on his way to pursue the great American dream, but he can't get that sentence off his mind. Instead he thought:

The evangelist did not say a great man, nor a learned man, nor a rich man, nor a wise man, nor an eloquent man, nor a smart man, but simply a man. I am a man, and it lies with the man himself whether he will or will not make that entire and full consecration.

Finally, he knelt down and prayed to his God to take his life and use it as He pleases. He then wrote:

The first thing a man must do if he desires to be used in the Lord’s work is to make an unconditional surrender of himself to God. He must consecrate and then concentrate. A man who does not put his whole life into one channel does not count for much.

God used Dwight L. Moody as a vessle for noble use, leading countless people to know Christ Jesus.

The lesson for us all is summarized in 2 Tim 2:20-21. In the words of John Stott: "If the promise is to be inherited ('he will be a vessel for noble use'), the condition must be fulfilled ('if anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble')."

Leading By Blogging

Yes, blogging will be a key competency for leaders of the future.

Recently I came across a short forethought piece in the Harvard Business Review where a Sun exec, Jonathan Schwartz, wrote that it is very risky for Sun execs not to have a blog. He argued that leaders' blogs potentially boost employees' morale and loyalty, enhance company's image, and attract new talents to join the company (that is, if the contents of the blog are positive).

Schwartz (2005:30) wrote:

In ten years, most of us will communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business community through blogs. For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than using e-mail is today. If you're not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf -- and I'm not talking about your employees.

Blogging lets you participate in communities you want to cultivate -- whether it's your employees, potential employees, customers, or anyone else--and leverage your corporate culture competitively.