Discipleship is a beautiful thing.

I ran across this picture today.
This picture is a group of core advisors at Teen Mania. This was our accountability group.

At Teen Mania, a core advisor is a leader who is over 6-12 first year interns. Their responsibility is to disciple and mentor from August to August.

I had the opportunity to disciple 12 girls.

IT WAS THE MOST REFINING EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!

But it was definitely one of the best years of my life.

Discipleship is intended to be a relationship where you are pouring into someone all the wisdom and knowledge you are learning while actively seeking God. Yet, you don't realize there is a magnifying glass over your life.

Every flaw in your life is not only visible to yourself, but to those 12 girls. You may confront someone on a problem in their life, and go back to your room and realize that it is a problem in your life also. Ouch.

And while you are pouring in and discipling these girls, you may not see any change. There may be no visible fruit to all the wisdom and time invested. And discouragement is knocking on your door twenty four hours, screaming "failure."

But through it all, discipleship is the best reflection of Jesus Christ.

You are given this heart, a vision for each person. And everything in your heart loves them. Yet they can do things that devastate your heart. However, you relentlessly pursue them. You have to remind yourself not to get offended. And you continuously love them. You love them beyond your feeling of rejection or hurt.

And through all this, the revelation comes that you are experiencing the heart of God. You are seeing what it is like to be rejected and despised, but to love regardlessly.

If you aren't discipling anyone right now, find someone. Disciple someone. It will change your heart for people and your relationship with God.

It certainly has changed mine.

 

love,
jocelyn elizabeth