And He said to them “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”    Mark 16:15-16 NASB

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.”   John 8:12 NASB

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.   Romans 14:13 NASB

The quote, “lead, follow, or get out of the way” was attributed to Thomas Paine. According to Paine’s biographer, Craig Nelson, Paine never said it, George Patton did. It was also used by Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca and Mitt Romney presidential candidate. If you are a Corvette enthusiast, you’ve seen this phrase used on t-shirts, baseball caps and posters featuring the Corvette. The phrase implies that the one quoting it is in a hurry to get something done and willing to follow someone with the same goal, but if that person doesn’t want to lead then they should get to the back and follow, but whatever they do don’t get in the way. As Christians we have similar tasks and could use the same phrase, but we would have to adjust it a bit.

You see as Christians, the order is a little different. We follow, then we lead, and we are always expected to stay out of the way.

We can’t lead anyone to Christ until we learn to follow Christ. If we are not following Christ, we are walking in darkness. Now as we walk in darkness we are hardly capable of leading. Sadly, when we walk in darkness, we tend to follow others who walk in darkness and you literally have the blind leading the blind. This is never good. But when we choose to follow Christ, we walk in the light. Our scripture passage from John tells us that we will have the Light of life. So the first thing we want to do is follow Jesus. Jesus came to earth to show us how to live life without sin. He showed us how to love others with the love of Christ. He showed us how to forgive others. We must follow His lead.

Once we are following Christ and secure in our salvation, we are expected to get to work. By this I mean, we are to lead others to Christ. We aren’t saved so we can sit around and look pretty, we are saved so that we can share the gospel with others. We have a responsibility as Christians to lead others to Christ. In our scripture passage from Mark, Jesus has been resurrected and is about to ascend into heaven. He is instructing His disciples to lead others to Christ. If those around us die without knowing about Christ it’s on us. Now if we share God’s word and we are rejected, then we have done our duty. But if we fail to live a life that exemplifies Christ and fail to share the gospel with those around us, we will have to answer for that. What they do with it, they will answer for.

Whatever we do, we must stay out of the way. We must not be a stumbling block to others. In Luke 17:1-2 Jesus told His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Jesus doesn’t mince words about the seriousness of the offense of blocking others from following Him. 

I don’t know what stage of the game you are in as you read this. Perhaps you have not decided to lead or follow. Maybe you are just standing around dumbfounded and in the way. Perhaps you have just begun to follow and are not yet ready to lead. Maybe you are leading and doing a fantastic job. I pray that you are not putting a stumbling block in someone’s way.

If you are not yet following, you are walking in darkness. No good can come from this, I encourage you to step into the light and follow Him. Walk in the Light of life.

Once you step into the light, you will want to encourage others to do the same. You will notice positive changes in your life that you want others around you to experience. When things are that good, you just have to share it with others. You will want to lead others to the good life that you have found.

If you are not yet following, but you see someone who is trying to follow Christ, I beg of you to stay out of their way. If you are not following, you are walking in darkness and have enough problems of your own. God will not deal lightly with you if you put a stumbling block before others. If you are trying to follow Christ, but someone is putting a stumbling block in front of you, know that Christ will never leave you nor forsake you. Stick close to Him and He will pull you through, over or around that stumbling block.

Have a great day!