"When looking for motiavtion, do you look ahead or behind?  Are you pulled along by a vision of success like a skier behind a boat, or are you picked up from behind a carried along by your calling?
    Today in a success driven culture it seems more likely to be pulled along by the hope of future success.  We constantly hear about the importance of vision, goal setting, and leaning into the future.  In terms of leadership, that is where leaders operate, out front.  Jesus called people to "follow me".  He cast a vision of what we could be ("I will make you . . . .) and invited people to reach for where he was going ("I am going ahead of you to Galilee and there you will see me).  Leaders cast a vision for their followers to inspire and motivate.  Moses cast the vision of a promise land to keep people pressing ahead.  The irony is that Moses himself found his motivation not so much in the vision of the future (he was not going into the promise land), but in the memory of his calling.  Paul also was a leader who cast a vision for his churches, but was constantly telling the story of his past conversion or calling (more to remind himself than others while struggling through the challenges of his ministry).
    While motivation from the future is enticing and important, what happens to it when we realize we won't reach the goal?  When the dream that was pulling me along slips from my hand and disappears into the unreachable distance?  It is not coincidental that God took Moses back up the same mountain upon which he recieved his call in the midst of trying to lead Israel to the promise land.  Neither is it then surprising that just before Israel is to enter the promise land, Moses gives a last warning about not forgetting where you came from and who brought you this far. Moses knew that there was also a danger that when our motivation is future success alone that when we achieve it we would fall victim to thinking it was because of what we did. 
    I would suggest that while the leader needs to cast the vision for the future to motivate those he/she leads, the leader him/herself needs to be careful not to abandon the inspiration of his/her calling.  While many things can affect the potential for reaching future success, Paul says "the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom.11).  It is our calling that comes from behind us, picks us up and carries us along when the vision has become clouded or the goal has been lost.

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