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One
of the fascinating characteristics of water is its volume change corresponding
to changes in temperature. As water is cooled it shrinks in volume until
a few degrees above freezing when it starts to expand. When water freezes,
ice forms and it is less dense than the surrounding water so it floats.
If God hadn't made water's properties this way, fish wouldn't be able to live
in any water where it ever got cold enough to freeze the top layers. Those
layers would sink freezing a lake from the bottom up.
Ice floats with just a small part of its
volume showing. So, the phrase, "just the tip of the iceberg"
reminds us that there is a lot more
ice under the water out of sight.
Paul's message to Timothy concerning the qualifications for
church leaders reflects this same principle. In order to determine who is
qualified for leadership positions he sets some tough standards. The first is
"...must be above reproach" (v.2).
An examination of a church leader shouldn't turn up any "iceberg tips."
As with an iceberg, questionable character on the surface is likely only
the tip of the problem.
"Why bother? We all have our flaws, don't
we? Why put greater standards on our leaders?" The answer
is: as the leaders go, so
goes the church! That invisible spiritual link will bring godly growth
or a sinful collapse! Take
time to read the chapter and compare your church leaders to God's standards.
All Scripture references are from the New American Standard
Version unless otherwise noted.
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Iceberg
