Disciples to Make Disciples (Abide Devotion for August 31, 2015)

2 Timothy 2:1-13

¹You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,

we will also live with him;

¹² if we endure,

we will also reign with him.

If we disown him,

he will also disown us;

¹³ if we are faithless,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot disown himself. ^[1]

 __________

What is striking to me in this passage is the string of metaphors that Paul uses in giving instructions to Timothy as a leader. He compares Timothy’s position to that of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. The point of each metaphor is different, but the overall focus for Paul is the same: Timothy must pass on what he has received.

In Timothy, Paul had raised up a disciple who could make disciples. That is an essential aspect of the definition of disciple. Jesus trained eleven disciples. But the focus of their training was not necessarily their own spiritual welfare, but that of the people that they would in turn disciple. They were discipled to make disciples. And then they were to raise up disciples who will make more disciples. This is how the gospel spread. It is how it still spreads today.

If I consider myself a disciple of Jesus, then I have a call to raise up other disciples, to equip them, to encourage them, pray for them, and assist them in making more disciples.

So my prayer today is for my own discipleship, as well as those whom I am actively discipling. I pray that by God’s grace and the Spirit’s power, we may all be discipled so as to make more disciples.

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

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^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (2 Ti 2:1–13). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.