The Least of These

Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When I was twelve years old I was baptized.  That was a huge step for me.  The problem was I had been raised in a Christian home but at the time I didn't really understand what that meant.  I had no real deep understanding of what it meant to be a Christian. 

The sad part about this is that it took me 31 years to begin to understand what a Christian really is.  It took a major trial in my life that could have meant life or death on this earth for my eyes to be opened to the first glimmer of what being a Christian is all about. 

One of the things that I see in the world today is that to many times we approach other non-Christians with the right purpose in mind but the wrong motive.  We want the person to be saved and to know Christ as their Savior but we don't run the race with them.  By that I mean we assist the person in saying the right words to become a Christian but we aren't in it for the long haul.  We don't build a relationship with the person and run the race with them. 

When a person decides to become a Christian they are like a newborn baby.  I have often heard it described as being reborn.  The thing is when we are born we have absolutely no defenses against anything.  It would be like giving birth to a baby and sitting them out on the street and saying you are on your own.

Many times we do that with brand new Christians.  That is the problem.  The new Christian may not understand how to be a Christian, they just know there is something missing in their life and they want that missing piece.  So this new baby Christian is thrown into a world where Satan is roaming to and fro looking for someone to devour and the baby Christian is easy pickins. 

So we take the credit for bringing the person to Christ but we don't run the race with them.  We don't build a relationship and teach and guide them.  Jesus didn't choose his disciples and baptize them and then say “now you are a Christian, go out and shepherd my sheep”.  Jesus spent time in relationship with the disciples and led by example.  He prepared them for the most important job in the world.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, it takes relationship to build trust.  To build trust requires time.  Relationships aren’t built in a day.  Please help me to work at building relationships so that others may come to know You. I praise you for bringing me to the trial that ultimately got my attention.     

Scripture:    “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. Matthew 25:31-40