The Way of Ascent is Descent

The more I grow into leadership, the more I realize that Christlike leadership is about ascending through descending.

Over the last several months, my team has grown a lot, and as they’ve grown, I’ve had to let go of more and more of my beloved work. I say “beloved” because I really do love the work I do and the space I work in. 

For instance, I’ve had to let go of projects that I started in which I would have found challenge and fulfillment. Not just projects, I also have had to give up progressively more power, influence, and exposure opportunities. If anything, I felt myself descend on the totem pole.

What just happened, God? 

I was becoming more or less just a resource and guiding post for my team. I could hear this whisper deep inside of me as I struggled with letting go and found myself working on less interesting overflow work: The way of ascent is descent.

Ascending to the heights of Christ is really a journey of descent. Of letting go. Of servitude. Of being last. Of humility. Of sacrifice. Of giving til it hurts. Of pruning the vine to bear fruit. There are so many Gospel truths that point to this. 

When I reflect on my growth as a disciple, I realize that this has been true all along. Any growth in relationship with God had a period of descent before it, followed by an ascent to a new level of relationship with God, belief or understanding of the ways of God, and followership of His teachings. 

Descent often looks like loss or letting go, uncovering bondage or sin, carrying the cross of suffering, poverty of spirit, and humble admittance of our need for God.

May we embrace the descent which is really our ascent, not to the heights of this world, but to the heights of Christ’s vision of who we’re becoming as His disciple.