What if Jesus really means what He says? That we will receive a reward for giving even a cup of water to a disciple. (Matt 10:42) Wouldn't this inspire us to do whatever we could for one another? Or that He really does want us to minister to the hungry, the stranger, the thirsty, the unclothed, the sick and the prisoner? (Matt 25:44-46) Or that He really does want us to make disciples rather than just go to church? Even in a small house church (18 adults, 5 little children) I am finding that the affairs of the group take up a lot of time, and that my mentoring efforts are mostly restricted to two people with whom I meet separately for two hours every two weeks.
I wonder how many American Christians have ever been discipled? (I recognize that the so-called Shepherding Movement gave this concept a bad name but it is Biblical so let's get over it & not throw out the baby with the bathwater.) How many ever received one on one teaching, care, prayer, and the pouring out of another life into our own on a consistent basis for a period of at least several years? I know I didn't. In my 30's I looked for a mentor, by 40 I realized I had to be my own mentor, and it is only in the last six years that I have actively pursued discipling others. Yet Jesus commands us to make disciples. (Matt 28:19)
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