2 Timothy 2:2 AMP
“The things [the doctrine, the precepts, the admonitions, the sum of my ministry] which you have heard me teach in the presence of many witnesses, entrust [as a treasure] to reliable and faithful men who will also be capable and qualified to teach others.”
The ultimate desire of God is that all men become like Christ, and the process through which this becomes a reality is called DISCIPLESHIP. To disciple someone, to raise them in the faith to become mature believers who experience the fullness of Christ, is a huge honour but also a huge responsibility. Just like parenting, it requires a great deal of time, energy, intentionality, devotion, and care.
In the Gospels, we see that Jesus spent THREE very INTENTIONAL, TRANSFORMATIONAL, LIFE-CHANGING years pouring into His disciples. In those three years together, these men were TAUGHT by Him, LED by Him, and GIVEN AN EXAMPLE on how to live by Him. They saw Him PREACH, HEAL, and SHOW amazing COMPASSION toward the broken, the outcast, and the downtrodden. They saw Him stand against hypocrisy and self-righteousness, have hard conversations with people, get in the mud of our brokenness, and serve humbly, even washing their feet!
These men walked, ate, prayed, celebrated, cried with, and were reprimanded by Him. He taught them both practical and spiritual lessons. He empowered them, kept them accountable, corrected them when they were in the wrong, prayed for them, ate with them, walked with them, wept with them, and had fun with them. Christ showed them what it meant to love God, to abide in Him, and to follow Him. He prepared them to go into the world and make more disciples, even as He had made them disciples.
The apostles of Jesus grew to be the men we revere today in the presence and under the care of Jesus. He chose them, raised them up, then sent them out as His messengers to accomplish the mission. It didn’t stop there, though, because He sent them out to make disciples, to replicate in the lives of others the process He had walked them through.
This is what Paul was doing when he told the Corinthians, Philippians, and Thessalonians to follow his example as he follows the example of Jesus, and it’s what he did with men like Timothy, Silas, and Titus to the point he even called them his true sons in the faith. And this is what you must intentionally do for others, too. Never think others cannot learn Christ through you. Live well to raise others well.
Confession: I take up my responsibility to disciple others with intentionality and genuine love.
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