Something that I’ve heard my father challenge through the years that has always stuck with me is the importance of being someone’s “Paul” as well as being someone’s “Timothy”. So what does this mean? In our walk with Christ it is vital that we be under the tutelage of another brother or sister in Christ who themselves are thorough students of God’s Word. This is someone who you might look up to as a hero of the faith, and someone who has a genuine love for Scripture. I believe the best picture of this seen in Scripture is in the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Paul was a spiritual father figure in Timothy’s life. He encouraged, taught, and challenged Timothy, as well as held him accountable to the Word of God. In turn, this is what we should be to others. So not only should we have someone that is feeding into us but we should be feeding into someone else. A great picture of this is the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Jordan River flows into both of these, yet they are so different. You see they are both being fed into by the same river yet one is full of life while the other is…… well….. dead. Why is this? As the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee the Sea of Galilee feeds back into the Jordan and ultimately into the Dead Sea. As the water moves from the Sea of Galilee back into the Jordan and on down to the Dead Sea there is nowhere else for the water to feed into. Therefore all the salt builds up to the point where it is impossible for marine life of any kind in the Dead Sea. You see the Sea of Galilee flourishes because it receives what is fed to it and passes it along. The Dead Sea is dead because it receives, receives, receives and doesn’t pass anything it is fed along. This is like a lot of Christians. We go to church and get our fill on Sundays. We might even hit up the occasional Bible Study or even be halfway consistent in our daily devotions. However, we show no desire for the wisdom, instruction, or accountability we can get from discipleship, and we definitely show no desire to provide that for others.
Unfortunately this is common in the modern day church. There is no priority put on discipleship. Because of this there is a lack of depth because there is a fear that depth would cause the loads of people pouring into these buildings to truly examine themselves. Why is the modern church afraid of this? These so called Christians have grown weary of instruction and growth. They do not want to hear that they are to continue striving for perfection because our society has developed in them this mindset that everyone is fine just as they are. The modern day church has not only accepted this as truth but feeds into it as well. So instead of being equipped to be warriors in the battle for truth the modern day Christian is taught that truth is relative and training or equipping is unnecessary because we aren’t at war at all. Church, we must be vigilant! We must understand the importance of discipleship. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read that Gods Word is profitable for, among other things, teaching. Why? So that the children of God will be complete and ready for every good work. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul tells Timothy this, “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Paul is literally discipling Timothy in discipleship. It is time that the church recognizes that she has forgotten the importance of spiritual depth and growth and falls back in love with the teachings of God’s Word.