he must become greater. i must become less.
Yesterday I gave my mother-in-law's funeral address after her long years of suffering, losing both body and mind. If you would like to read it, you can look at the first comment under this entry. She was a woman that embodied self-abnegation. She had no designs for her own promotion or reputation. She spent her life loving and serving children and her family.
What does it mean to be a disciple? I'm thinking specifically about mentoring (a catch phrase these days for sure)—taking a young wo/man under your wing and deepening his/her level of maturity. For many it suggests 'hanging out' with a mentor, you know, 'doing life together'. There is immense value in that, obviously. For many, however, discipleship is a mechanism for self-promotion. One gets to be recognized as being in the 'inner circle' of some super-saint. At his point, the whole process becomes a pharisaical farce. Mentoring is incredibly dangerous if it is a subversive means for career advancement or social status. Rather, mentoring, like all relationships, should be for the greater glory of God and the building up of the body of Christ. I'm thinking specifically about young Timothy whom Paul labeled 'my son'. No one was closer to Paul, and yet, young Timothy spend most of his time running errands for the Apostle rather than sitting at his feet soaking in the sage wisdom of the converted Rabbi. As near as I can tell, Timothy spent more time away from Paul on the second missionary journey than he did with him. Get out a map and follow along. Timothy traveled with Paul from Lystra to Troas and from Troas to Philippi. Timothy, not mentioned in Acts 17:1, likely stayed behind in Philippi to help the fledgling church only later to catch up with Paul in Thessalonica. At Thessalonica, Timothy again stays behind while Paul flees. By the time Timothy catches up with him at Berea, Paul has to run again, and orders Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the health of the fledgling church. Timothy does Paul's bidding and then searches him out to the far south in Athens. Once again, Paul sends him away, again to check on the status of the church in Thessalonica. After taking care of business in the north, Timothy hunts Paul down in Corinth. They could not have been there for very long before Paul jets off to Ephesus and Timothy is ordered to stay at Corinth to facilitate leadership development. By the time he can join Paul in Ephesus, his mentor orders him to go again to Thessalonica to check on their progress. Yet again, Timothy reunites with Paul in Ephesus and is immediately sent on a mission to Macedonia to raise funds for their trip to Syria. Are you dizzy following all this? So was Timothy! If he signed up for this trip to spend time with Paul he must have been sorely disappointed. What's the point of this geographic rambling? Simply this: If you desire to be a disciple of a respected teacher, don't expect his time, rather ask for an assignment. It is thoroughly appropriate to receive private training from a mentor, but the purpose must always be for public ministry.
