Spiritual Role
Models
December 15, 2003
Role modeling is crucial. Indeed, the significance
of role modeling is underscored by a study involving the cadet
wing of the Air Force Academy. Each cadet squadron is supervised
by an active duty officer, called the air officer commanding (AOC).
Cadets were asked to select what they believed the AOC's primary
role to be. Their most frequent choice, chosen five times as
often as the next possible alternative, was "officer model,"
defined as a "person who exemplifies what you want to be, acts
the way you would like to act" (James Kouzes & Barry Posner;
Credibility, p. 190).
No man can role model faith in God until he has
developed a consistent dependence on God. Once that faith is
established, others will see it. For instance, before Jesus
raised Lazarus from the dead he prayed, "Father, I thank you
that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I
said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they
may believe that you sent me" (John 11:42).
The Lord's faith in his Father was exercised in a
way that demonstrated the power of God in a hopeless situation.
As mighty men we want to cultivate the kind of dependence on God
that others can see in real-life situations. Such a faith isn't
cultivated during a crisis, but before one. It's developed
during routine days. And men who cultivate such a faith will
provide a role model of steadfast dependence on God . . . a role
model that others won't forget.
So if we want to be godly role models, we must
seek the grace we need to depend on God today for the mundane
issues we face. Then when we encounter a major problem, we'll
have developed the faith needed to keep depending on God.
Ultimately, we become role models one day at a time.
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