by Luke Kincaid
Discipleship is essential to genuine spiritual growth. I have been reminded of this truth over the past week while interacting with some of our youth and as we cover the topic of discipleship on Saturday afternoons. Sitting down with fellow children of God while discussing and growing in our faith is an essential element of being a disciple. It is clear that the early church placed much importance on discipleship:
46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. – Acts 2:46-47
“Everyday”… that is the most challenging word for me in this short text. It is so important that we spend time with fellow disciples as much as possible as we are way stronger together than when we are apart and I have been encouraged to experience this first hand.
I love these words from Jeff Vanderstelt:
“Once we start to realize that discipleship is an everyday, all-of-life process for our own lives, we’re halfway to understanding God’s call. The other half of that call is seen most clearly in the great commission, where God calls his people— all his people—to “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” (Matt. 28:19-20). Part of our own discipleship is “paying it forward”: seeing God not only work in us, for our own discipleship, but also seeing him work through us, for others’ discipleship. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us that a primary way we grow into maturity in Christ is through “speaking the truth in love” to and with each other (Eph 4:16). God didn’t design discipleship to primarily happen alone.”
So I challenge all of us this week, even in the midst of our current chaos, to look for opportunities to spend time with fellow children of God and benefit from discipling one another.
Much Love,
Luke
Although it’s so hard with the current pandemic and social distancing laws. Thank goodness for technology…but its not quite the same. It’s a big challenge to navigate in this new COVID world.
Thanks Luke; great post which prompts thought.
With love, in Christ.