Making Disciples

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

WHEN I WAS LITTLE, my dad worked hard to foster my imagination. Rather than sit my sister and me in front of the television or tell us to go off and play, he would give us fun assignments that often involved his love for storytelling and writing. He would call us into the living room and say, “Here are five random words: mustard, beach, horse, guitar, baseball. Let’s each come up with a story using all five of these words and then come back together to read our stories to one another.” At the very basic level, it was a way to keep us from being bored. At the highest level, we were little authors with imaginations and a challenge in front of us!

Looking back, this was God’s grace early on in my life. He was creating in me a thirst for words, and He was using my dad to open this door.

But my dad didn’t just tell us to go write. He did it with us. And he did it himself. After coming home from his work at a warehouse, he would sit down with us and his typewriter, banging on the keys for hours. He was always submitting articles and humor pieces to various publications, living out his life as a writer on his own. I didn’t know it then, but sharing his passion with us and coaching us was a form of mentorship.

As we explore what grace looks like in community, let’s remember mentorship and disciple-making. When I see a sister pouring into another sister all that she knows and has learned from God, it looks amazing on her. But she doesn’t just dole out assignments on living the Christian life; she abides and connects with God, too. She not only takes a sister by the hand and says, “Let me show you my God,” she also sits with Him, listening and learning from the Master Himself. She not only helps her sister in her worries and fears, but she takes her own troubles to the King who provides us with His peace. She abides in Christ, and from that overflow, she pours out into others.

Just as my dad took me under his wing and poured his love for writing and creativity into me, grace looks like taking a younger woman under your wing and showing her the way of Jesus.

GRACE REFLECTION: Pray with me, “God, thank You for all that I have learned from those who have gone before me and have mentored me. Help me to be an example to others, pouring into them all You’ve given to me. Amen.”