The book of I Thessalonians is a letter from Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the people of the church of Thessalonica. Paul and his traveling companions were pleased with the church and were happy that the people there were doing well.
I Thessalonians 2:8 says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” What a great discipleship program this could become!
We use a lot of different tools, today, for discipleship. There are books and Bible studies galore that we can use as we disciple people in their walk with the Lord. None of these books or programs are bad things and most of them are probably pretty good. But, what would it look like if the main component of our discipleship programs were sharing our lives as well as the gospel of God because the folks we are discipling are so dear to us? I believe this method would develop some deep and strong disciples of Jesus.
Discipleship that looks like this can be so powerful as we love others, share our lives with them, share meals with them, share struggles and triumphs with them, and let them see how we walk with the Lord as they are developing their own walk with the Lord. It would probably get a little messy at times, because we’re human and humans get messy but the rewards would be so amazing; true disciples who love Jesus, love each other, and who will subsequently go out and make more true disciples who love Jesus.
This method worked for Paul, Silas, and Timothy back in the day, and I think it would work for us in 2011, 2012, and beyond.
