When One Teaches

Have you seen this quote floating around Pinterest and Facebook recently?  I have and it caught my eye because it describes what has been going on in my life lately.

Back in the fall I sensed that God was wanting me to regularly meet one on one with another woman who wanted to learn more about Him, just as people have poured into me to help grow my faith.  Almost immediately someone popped up but unfortunately, meeting together never came to fruition.  After Christmas, God nudged me again so I set out in prayer to figure out who the WHO was supposed to be!  So as it turns out, I am now regularly meeting with two new friends who want to learn more about the Lord and grow in their faith, and I am so excited to be a part of that with them.  

For me, to lead/teach someone else in matters of faith is quite a humbling position.  I barely feel like I am qualified to do it.  But scripture is clear that this is a job of every believer - to disciple (teach) others.  

Matthew records Jesus in chapter 28:18-20:  

Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” (The Message paraphrase)

The promise in this?  I'll be with you as you do this.  I'm not on my own.  That's good news.

But with this task comes heavy expectation, and James 3:1 came to mind immediately as I began to prepare:  "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."

Oy vey, talk about accountability.

One of my biggest struggles when it comes to my faith is setting aside time on daily basis to read my Bible and chat with God.  And who am I to teach others when I have such an essential element of the Christian walk missing in my own life?  

When one teaches, two learn.  

I have the privilege of being in a small group Bible study with 4 other amazing women at another church in the area, and it's an intensive discipleship course.  Each week I have to spend time in scripture with a new-to-me method of studying, and it has caused my quiet time to flourish.  What has hit me is how little time it takes to accomplish quality personal Bible study.  And with a new little book I made to help organize the things and people I want to pray about, I've found that too can still be quality in a short amount of time.  

For the longest time I've made LAW for myself by imposing my own crazy rules on what a "perfect" quiet time should look like:

I shall be up before the crack of dawn, while the children are still asleep

I shall drink coffee

I shall be wide awake

I shall have deep and meaningful times of prayer

I shall read Scripture and my mind will be blown away

I shall journal/take notes to pass down to my children's children's children's children

And guess what?  When I couldn't haul myself out of bed before the sun, or a child woke up 5 minutes after my alarm went off,  I didn't even want to try the rest because I had already failed.  Isn't that silly?  And pathetic?  

So what's the point of this post today?  I guess it's to encourage you to evaluate if you're in a position to disciple someone else.  Pray for God to lead you to that person.  One of the gals I'm I am discipling was thinking she needed someone to meet with right when God was leading me to her.  Amazing stuff!  

Or maybe you're newer in your faith or have never learned how to study the Bible for yourself.  Would you do me a favor and let me know, and I will do my best to help you or find someone else who can?  

Most of all, I'm just happy to share my sigh of relief for finally finding the answer to my own faith problems.  All it took was beginning to teach someone else.  

When one teaches, two learn.