“When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” (Luke 2:45–47, NASB95)
Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. A growing disciple of Jesus doesn’t need to be constantly prodded to study and seek answers for their faith. It is part of the life – the eternal life – that indwells them. They are naturally curious and desire to know more so that they can be more with their God.
When the Spirit of God enters us, He builds a thirst for more of God’s Word and an understanding of it. As brother Peter reminds us, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2, NASB95)
Growth, as a result of a constant feeding on the words of God, is natural for the new disciple of Jesus. As we help them grow, they long for more and more information to answer their innumerable questions. Their hunger can’t be quenched easily.
And so, here we see Jesus doing that very thing. There He was, “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.” Wouldn’t you have loved to have heard the questions He raised? Imagine the thoughts that ran through that young man’s head. There He was, the Word of God, growing into His manhood, seeking wisdom and understanding for His human side.
And yet, we can imitate Jesus as well. Just as brother Paul commanded the Corinthians, so too we can “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NASB95) Our task is to imitate Jesus. Ask and answer the questions of our disciple. Feed their mind and their faith as you reply from both the text of God’s Word and the experiences of a life lived in submission to the Holy Spirit.
Today, as you step into your day, be sure to touch base with the one you are discipling. Welcome all their questions and do your best to answer them. As you do, remember Jesus. Who your disciple may become is God’s business. Training her or him well is yours.
Train Them Thursdays seeks to wed the Great Commission directive of Jesus with the practice He employed while on Earth. Each nugget is meant to encourage the reader with a “can-do” spirit to realize that discipleship is something each person is both capable of and empowered to accomplish. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each thought and they flow out of decades of his tried and true field-testing in multiple settings from rural to inner city. He welcomes your comments below.
