S28P6 – Our saintly duty: discipleship
Rom. 1:1-6
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures— regarding His Son, who, as to the flesh, was born a descendant of David, and according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. It is through Him that we have received grace and apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the Gentiles, and you also are among those who are called of Jesus Christ to belong to Him;
Jesus was a carpenter by trade. He would have used his hands and his smarts to build and restore things. A carpenter can take a simple pile of wood and make it into something useful and beautiful. It is interesting that that was his trade given that Jesus Christ is the foundation on which we are built. He is the cornerstone. Whether as the cornerstone or as a carpenter, the metaphor does not escape us. Jesus was and is a builder. On Earth He built not only furniture but people. Through his ministry He took broken, oppressed, lost and hurting people and built them into members of a royal priesthood. He built them into soldiers in God’s army. He built them into those who walk in the power of God. Not only does He continue to build people in this way today, but He calls the saints to do the same.
Each follower of Jesus Christ has been a disciple at one point. Actually, we should remain disciples throughout our lives until the day we no longer live in this order of things. One of the discipleship relationships we have is between us and God directly. But another relationship each of us should have is between us and our brothers and sisters. When I first came to Christ, it took an army of believers to help me along and build me up. I had no answers and many questions, and it was not God’s will for me to figure things out on my own. I needed good examples of healthy Christian men to show me what it means to walk this life out as God intends. And as I have grown in my faith, it has become my duty to disciple others in the same way. We all are called to build others through discipleship as we have been built. We are called to disciple others as Jesus did.
Receiving teaching and encouragement is great. Being fed by one who carries the Spirit and lives in the Spirit is priceless. But there comes a day when the mantle must be passed on to you, and you then become the builder. This is not an option but a requirement and an expectation. if you doubt your abilities to teach someone the things of God or encourage someone the way you think they should be encouraged, start with the basics. Start by simply loving someone and being Jesus to them. The best way to teach someone how to live in a Christ-like manner is to first live in a Christ-like manner yourself. Being an example is a mighty tool to use in discipleship. It may be the mightiest tool we have in our arsenal. Father, thank You for placing people in our lives to make disciples of us, and thank You for trusting us to build others as well.