Wednesday Bible Blurb A Discipling we go… 7 31 2024
As a water safety instructor, the first thing one teaches their students is, “Reach, throw, row, go”. Safety in a water rescue of a drowning victim has a natural progression of action. The safest way to rescue someone is to reach out to them. If they are too far from shore, throw them a life buoy attached to a rope. If available use a boat or raft of some kind and the last thing you ever want to do is “go” into the water after them. In water rescues the axiom is always, it is better that one drowns, than two.
Our discipleship into the life and mind of Jesus also has a natural progression of action. As a disciple of Jesus we learn, follow, teach and go make disciples. What stage of discipleship are we in? When I was a young ten-year-old my family began to learn of God and His Sabbath day of rest. To a ten-year-old, raised in a home of agnostics this was quite exciting. Soon I had begun to preach the gospel to school mates only to be told by one, “My mom says I can’t listen to you anymore”. Well, at least I was trying but I was not equipped properly to “go” preach the gospel.
My life has been a steady progression of the discipling concepts of learn, follow, teach and go.
First, we must and I did dedicate myself to study of the Word of God. We must grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3:18) and study to show ourself approved of God (II Tim. 2:15). By the sixth grade I was reading Bible stories and participating in church. I was and still am a very slow learner. I started to collect books on history and now I have around 1,500 books. I am a voracious reader particularly in winter in Montana when it is 29 below zero F. It is too cold outside, nothing else to do but read.
Second, in my life I learned to follow the leader. I was close to our pastor as a young high school student. He mentored me and encouraged me to continue on. Our youth group had around 30 kids and I was named “President” of the youth group. Our great desire was to have a week long back pack trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We followed our pastor/leader, fund raised and went on our trip to Ranger Lake in King’s Canyon. We lost one young girl in the mountains as she forgot to “follow’” her leader down the trail. We found her the next day perfectly fine for her ordeal. One of the girls swam to far out into the lake…more on that later.
Third, I began to look at the idea of becoming a teacher. I volunteered in high school to help as a teachers aid. In college I took water safety, CPR and First Aid and became an instructor in all three. I loved teaching the little kids how to blow bubbles and be safe around water. Last year, 44 years after a little boy was my student, I ran into him as an adult. He was forever grateful for learning how to swim and last week he let me know, his daughter is now a lifeguard and working at a church summer camp.
Fourth is to go preach the gospel. After graduating from college, I had not been called into the ministry. Instead, I ended up an insurance agent. Interestingly, one day an aged retired pastor came to my insurance office, leaned himself up against the door jam, crossed his arms and slowly said, “Your job is much like mine was, at 3:30 in the morning when something bad happens, they call you, me and 911.” He had a good point and I have found my job in the “service” industry has been one of the greatest ministerial preps I could have had. After being out of college for 40 years I was finally called into the ministry and it has been “Go dog go” ever since. (I like Dr. Seuss books.) It took Moses 40 years too, so I felt okay with the 40 years wait.
Discipling the gospel of Jesus is so much like being a water safety instructor. Reach, throw, row, go verses learn, follow, teach and go. The young teenaged girl who went too far out into the lake was not a good swimmer. The other teens had convinced her she was fine to be out there with them. I was sitting on a large dead tree log by the shore of the lake when I heard the cry for help. I could not reach her and I had nothing to throw and no row boat. All I had left was to “go”. I rescued the young lady and the teens on the trip were very grateful for the help.
Are we ready to go? Have we been trained, (Learn), are we playing follow the leader and are we able to teach about the gospel of the Kingdom of God. If we are, then it is time to “go”. In both life guarding and discipling the last thing we do is “go”. But when it is time to go, go we must for it is our duty to do our best to try to save others.
