John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, once wrote “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” There can be no doubt that this describes our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for he is the epitome of a leader. Another important quality of a leader can be expressed with the maxim “never ask others to do what you are unwilling to do yourself.” Again, Jesus is perhaps the finest example of this, especially through his passion and death on the cross.

No doubt, in compiling a list of great leaders, we seldom, if ever, include God. But shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t God be at the top of every list of great leaders? After all, God created us and watches over and guides us every moment of our lives. Through Him we are given the gifts to dream, to learn, to live, and to be all that we are meant to be. Without God, we would be nothing, we simply would not be.

God, through His actions, gave us Jesus – the Son of God and the son of man – to set us free from the slavery of sin. The Gospel of John proclaims “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word became flesh, he lived among us…” [Jn 1:1, 14] Jesus, The Word, became man to provide for us that perfect example of leadership.

Every action that Jesus took – the words that he spoke, the works that he performed – lead us toward the Kingdom of God. And while we believe that through his death and resurrection we have been granted the opportunity to share in eternal life with God, what Jesus gave us is so much more. Jesus gave us the means, the means to achieve everlasting life with God. He showed us the way, the truth and the life we are to live.

Through his suffering and death on the Cross, Jesus showed us just how much God loves us and to what depths He is willing to go to prove to us His love. He became flesh, a human being, who felt the same joys, sorrows, pain, and sufferings as every human being. He was born; he lived, suffered, and died as a human being. And upon his death we read that “he handed over the spirit.” [Jn 19:30]

The flesh is mortal but the spirit immortal; man dies but the spirit remains. Jesus exemplifies this duality of the human condition, our physicality and our spirituality, our body and our soul.

We live but for a brief, brief moment in time here on earth but will live forever in the spirit.

Jesus spread his arms out on the cross to show us the way, to lead us to the open and loving arms of God. If we follow Jesus, if we live our lives as he lived his, if we can live as true examples of Christ crucified, then we will be welcomed into His heavenly kingdom with open and loving arms.