Once upon a time, I was a 5 year old little girl. I was an only child, but I had lots of baby dolls that loved to play with me. I would name them all, line them up, and teach them everything I knew. I made my living room into my classroom and my babies into my pupils. As I got older, my desire to pass on my knowledge and to build up little ones manifested itself into a dream to teach for real.
My dream of going to college to become a teacher morphed into a desire to build up children in the faith. I went to school to become a Director of Children’s Education in a church, so that I could work at building up, equipping, and encouraging young minds to grow in the Lord. This vision has not left my heart in the years that have passed, it has just been pushed aside by other passions, ideas, and events that God has brought into my life.
I don’t have my own classroom inside a school, or a job with a church where I can lead a youth group now. And I don’t know what He has planned for my future. But, God has put before me opportunities and circumstances to continually remind me that I am already a teacher, even now.
This isn’t just a path that I need to pursue. Jesus has commanded this of all of us! Jesus told us “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) This command doesn’t only apply to missionaries, pastors, elders, and deacons… This is a command we should be doing all the time! Now, of course, the Bible tells us that we all have different gifts. But, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them (Romans 12:6). Let us use our gifts to teach, or serve, exhort, give, etc.
I was challenged recently to take this command to heart and to meditate on what it means to disciple someone. I love being discipled, gleaning all kinds of wisdom from women who have so much to teach. But am I helping anyone become firmer in their faith? Am I bringing anyone to a faith in Christ? I’m not. But I need to. I’ve been commanded to.
One of my favorite phrases: “Pursue a Paul, train a Timothy, be a Barnabas.”
I have many people in my life that are like Paul, who mentored and taught others; and I am blessed with someone in particular that has taken a special interest in my walk with Christ. Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement: I am working on making this a priority as well. (This is a lot easier to do when you meditate on Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others).
Do you have a Paul and Timothy? Are you a faithful Barnabas?
So, my Timothy… Where are you?
Hey Kort!! You did an AWESOME job on your first blog post! And such a wonderful topic! Oh how important discipleship is! Whether 9 or 90, we should never stop growing or learning in our faith. Kudos kid; great job!
Thanks for reading, Christina!! Not only should we never stop growing or learning in our faith, but we should never stop doing it with others! We can learn so much from others whether by teaching them or being taught!God is always showing us things; it’s amazing 🙂
Great job! You bring up an excellent point of the importance of seeking to live out The Great Commission. In particular, I appreciated when you talked about the importance of realizing that this doesn’t just apply to missionaries, but to all who love Christ Jesus. I’m looking forward to your next piece!
Thanks, Samantha! I think a lot of people often think of The Great Commission being put into action by missionaries and church workers, like I said, but also by handing out pamphlets on the street corners and asking people if they know where they are going after they die. But discipleship takes real relationships, which everyone has!
Keep reading! My next post is going to be on Valentine’s Day 😉